Originally a rugby stadium, which became a theatre during the study, integrating 31,000 sq.m of offices into its architecture, this building has no equivalent. Held in town between four streets on the main axis of La Défense and Nanterre, it is located in the spectacle of the towers. Its exterior offers a horizontal softness thanks to an envelope of glass and aluminium flakes that diffuse daylight under the stretched line of its high white concrete steps.
© Nicolas Borel
This apparent sweetness is astonishing in contrast to the immensity felt when you enter this room under 40 metres of its vault. In the sports version, the capacity of Paris la Défense Arena, which hosts the Racing 92 team in residence, is 30,400 seats. In addition to this gauge, which makes it the largest closed auditorium in Europe and the second largest in the world for sports, the Arena is characterised by an original design – an irremovable roof and mixed ground whose synthetic turf is covered with slabs and transformed, in eleven hours, into an auditorium – a neat comfort and visibility and an acoustic requiring exceptional implementation, a giant screen of 1.400 sq.m etc.
© Nicolas Borel
The roof, composed of four mega beams, rests on a very large span structure – 150 metres x 110 metres. At night, the facade, wrapped in glass and aluminium flakes, brings infinite variations of colour to the city.
© Nicolas Borel
© Claire Marcel
Project Info
Architects: 2P Architectes & Associés
Area: 117000 m²
Year: 2017
Photographs: Claire Marcel, Anthony Folliau, Agence Christian de Portzamparc
Manufacturers Kalzip: Kalzip
Category: Sports Architecture, Stadiums, Soccer Stadium
Project Team: 2 Portzamparc
City: Nanterre
Country: France
Nora is an architect and editor with a degree from Pratt Institute. She bridges design practice and architectural criticism, documenting contemporary urban transformations through compelling visual narratives.