The theater's silhouette is flush with the bastion's rampart, thereby underscoring the rampart's beauty. The mineral materials used - a concrete that resembles that of the enclosing stone wall - has the effect of merging the new structure with the older, military architecture. At the foot of the fortification, undergrowth helps to recreate the original landscape: that of a citadel emerging from the countryside.
Playing the parts of both ground and rooftop, a panoramic viewpoint is converted into a garden that houses the cultural center. In the perimeter around the center, the rampart walk reminds visitors of the bastion's defensive history. The project never constitutes an obstacle: rather, through the redesign of the site's topography, visitors feel drawn to stroll around the site. The project also creates an architectural discourse between the various levels and activities contained in the citadel.
A hall, exhibition areas, and dining areas take up the emergent part of the project, and benefit from the splendid panoramic views. Large floor overhangs have been adapted for use as terraces, granting visitors respite from the summer sun.
The underground performance hall seats 340 people. Its walls are covered in a warm-toned metallic resin intended to screen the public from the catwalks, acoustical devices and other backstage equipment. This luminous casing changes with the hall, depending on the works being presented.
