The Palais Des Arts is a multifaceted performance, business, and diplomacy venue capable of hosting a full range of events. The Palais Des Arts consists of a renovation to the existing Palais des Banquets as well as the demolition and replacement of the existing Palais des Spectacles. The facade of the existing Palais des Banquets is enveloped by a new Screen Wall, which organizes the entry and views into the building.The Palais des Spectacles is replaced with an outdoor theater over the old theater’s footprint and new public plaza. The plaza is covered by a dynamic canopy that provides shelter from the rain and shade for visitors to the site. Gardens and landscaping knit these elements together seamlessly into a cohesive site strategy which echos Gabon’s incredible natural ecology.
The structural system proposed for the canopy roof is a prefabricated component based system, assembled on site as a kit-of-parts. Each component consists of a “stress skin” panel where top and bottom surfaces contribute to the strength and stiffness of the structure. An interlocking reciprocal pattern is utilized to allow each plane of the roof to act as a two way spanning slab as well as mobilizing in plane stiffness and allow a very slender structure.
