Pont-Audemer Cinema

The Wedge Cinema Complex, Pont-Audemer

This project brought Jakob + Macfarlane back to the Normandy town for which they had already designed the L'Éclat theater almost two decades ago. The new cinema complex is located on the edge of Pont-Audemer (but still within walking distance of the town center) and anchors a future commercial strip emerging on the site of a demolished foundry. Six movie theaters ranging in size from 40 to 280 seats are situated in the upper part of the building. The architects decided to stack the cinemas, with their naturally tiered shapes, into a sequence of increasing sizes, which created a raked volume with enough space underneath to accommodate an ample public lobby. The transparent lobby overlooks a newly created eco-landscape.

Together with an old train station repurposed into a restaurant, the complex signals the town's new shopping and entertainment area and therefore should have a strong presence.

While Jakob+Macfarlane's centrally located Pont-Audemer theater is highlighted in orange-a contemporary version of the color red that used to identify public entertainment places in French cities of the nineteenth century-the envelope of the cinema complex is strong pink, emphasizing its rootedness in suburban culture. The lower part of the cantilevered volume is lined in wood-a reference to the wooden slats of Pont-Audemer's medieval buildings.

Completed in 2021

Client City of Pont-Audemer

Programme Six 40- to 280-seat cinemas, reception hall, forecourt and car park

Team Atelier des 2 anges (associate architect), EGIS Bâtiments Centre Ouest, J.-P. Lamoureux, Labeyrie & Associés

Photos: Nicolas Borel, Roland Halbe