Repentigny Theater: A meeting place for a whole community

The Repentigny Theater, designed by FABG, is the result of a competition to create a multifunctional, flexible space for cultural events in Quebec where visitors can feel a sense of community. It’s a part of a larger civic complex.

 

Like a town square for meeting up

The theater is a lively, inviting place that’s open to everyone. It’s a place where people can see their home town from a different perspective and feel a stronger sense of belonging. Canadian studio FABQ designed the new Repentigny Theater to embody these values as part of the larger civic complex in Quebec. The project won a competition for designing a place for cultural events and community, both needs that were expressed by the local people for quite some time.

The auditorium itself seats 350 people and can be reconfigured depending on the event. It’s especially designed to host theater and classical music performances, but can also accommodate cultural events of various kinds, including less formal affairs, making the building a lively and welcoming place for the whole local community. For this reason, many of the spaces in the theater are reminiscent of town squares – places where people can meet up and spend time together. This idea, translated and reinterpreted, extends to the panoramic terrace overlooking adjacent parkland, a staircase with a large landing, and a foyer with extensive glazing. These spaces all reflect the aim to create places for bringing people together, reflecting the bond between people expressed by the community itself. A connecting thread runs between the interior and exterior, with the windows creating a continuity between the two both physically and visually, while also providing ample natural light.

 

>>> Discover the Yang Liping Performing Arts Center, commissioned by dancer Yang Liping. Read an excerpt from the article published in THE PLAN 131.

 

 

The interiors and exteriors

The panoramic terrace above the entrance overlooks the gardens in front of the building, Île-Lebel park, and, further on, the St. Lawrence River. The terrace has a roof with cross-layered wood panels which, when lit up at night, gives the entire structure a distinct identity, as do the white staircase and entrance. The foyer, a large double-height space with an internal staircase, also has a wooden ceiling.

To ensure the quality of performances and events, and so that the facility is truly multifunctional, the walls of the auditorium and orchestra pit are covered with vertical slats and sound-absorbing mineral wool panels to produce optimal and adaptable acoustics, eliminating the effects of echo and reverberation. Similar flexibility can be found in the seating, which, besides the classic tiered fan arrangement, can be transformed into cabaret or banquet styles.

The outdoor spaces at ground level are also multifunctional and can be freely configured to create accessible, pleasant meeting places. In this way, the design of the project has benefitted the entire area between the theater and the Diane-Dufresne Art Centre.

 

>>> Discover the Oriental Movie Metropolis Show Theater, submitted for the Culture category of the 2021 THE PLAN Award.

 

>>> You have until May 31 to register for the 2022 THE PLAN Award, an annual international award for excellence in architecture, interior design, and urban planning with 20 categories, including Culture, dedicated to museums, libraries, and cultural facilities.

 

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