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Perspective of the Auditorium from the entrance hall
Sereo Architects
Auditorium and Movie Theater
Saint Cyprien 2008

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Anne Paterson

Serero Architects were recently awarded first prize in competition for the new auditorium and movie theater in Saint Cyprien, France.
The site for the new auditorium and movie theatre at Saint Cyprien is the middle of an open park. David Serero researched the natural surroundings for his winning design. A computer script was created, generating a facade that assembles non-repetitive and non-standard components. The roofing of the building, despite its irregular appearance, is generated from simple geometrical rules allowing a variation of shapes between the elements. The egg-shaped perforations in the roof resemble the dappling effect of the sunlight filtering through the tree foliage, and in the way a tree provides a shady place, the external shell protects the lobby and the auditorium from the sun. The internal shell of glass and concrete regulates and controls the heating and ventilation level. In this way the external shell of the building acts like a ‘living’ skin.

View of the entrance of the building.
Sereo Architects
Auditorium and Movie Theater
Saint Cyprien 2008

David Serero draws his inspiration from trees: ‘They are complex structures elaborated from simple rules, growing coherently and continuously in time and space. The efficiency of those structures is based on the notions of redundancy and differentiation in opposition to the concepts of modern engineering such as modern optimisation and repetition.’
The auditorium is designed to offer optimum acoustic quality to two different sound spaces, with the use of a complex geometrical ceiling to diffuse the sound to the whole audience. ‘Concrete Canopy’ at Saint Cyprien, has a strong and sensitive ‘sense of place’. The design of the building is a natural extension of the surrounding park, but at the same time makes a strong design statement, borrowing intelligently and respectfully from nature’s own design elements. ‘It is a concrete “pebble” under foliage that visitors will follow to enter the auditorium,’ says David Serero.

Axonometric view of the project.
Sereo Architectes
Auditorium and Movie Theater
Saint Cyprien 2008

Serero Architects, created in 2000, develops projects combining research and design in the fields of architecture and landscape design, urban planning and product design. David Serero has particular interest in generative design (using computer software to automatically create designs from high-level specifications), digital manufacturing (describing every aspect of the design-to-manufacture process digitally), fluid dynamics, crystallography, acoustics, genetics and topographical manipulation. He seeks to make new connections between these fields and architectural practice, strongly embracing the concept of interdisciplinary design.

Interior view of the Auditorium.
Sereo Architects
Auditorium and Movie Theater
Saint Cyprien 2008

Serero Architects has won numerous international awards. The latest design project (March 2008), is a stunning extension to the top floor of the Eiffel Tower, and can be viewed on the website. David Serero’s work has been widely published and exhibited in shows at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) of New York, and the Venice Biennale among others.

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