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| Groundbreaking for new Zenith centre in St Etienne  Construction has started on site at Foster and Partners' scheme for a state of the art Zenith music and cultural facility in St Etienne. Placing the formerly industrial city on the cultural map, the world class facility forms the heart of an exciting project, initiated by the City, to revitalise the area to the north-east of the city centre, transforming St Etienne into one of the foremost cities for culture in the region, and regenerating the wider urban context.The Foster design responds to ecological concerns, with the cantilevered roof acting as a scoop – or literally a wind-catcher - to channel and intensify the wind flow, directing it through the building to ventilate the auditorium naturally by night time cooling. The system is fully reversible and can respond to prevalent winds from both northerly and southerly directions. The auditorium can be configured for an audience ranging from 1100 to 7200, and the additional facilities include the VIP reception, backstage areas, changing and production spaces, staff refectories, delivery areas and 1100 car parking spaces. A proposed pedestrian boulevard is part of a comprehensive landscape strategy being evolved to link Zenith to other existing cultural facilities in the immediate area, including the Cite de Design and the Stade Geoffrey Guichard. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |