Belfort Municipal Theater (Theatre Granit)
1 faubourg de Montbéliard BP117
90002 Belfort cedex
France

Jean Nouvel 1983

Nouvel's radical extension is the second transition for what was originally a classic nineteenth century theater. 

The original theater is set at an angle to the river bank. Nouvel has first build infill buildings between the theater building and original buildings behind, then sliced the whole though with a knife at an angle parallel to the river. Doorways into this facade remain parallel with the original theater front, emphasizing the sharp angle at which the building has been sliced.

The river frontage is therefore pillars of deliberately raw, sliced-though wall sections, with the plane of the 'knife' both glazed and highlighted with a square metal grid set into and around the building.  

This plan reorients the theater towards the river and the town, attempting to re-engage with a population that had deserted the previous theater, making a virtue of the contrast between new and old.

Simon Glynn, 2003

How to visit

The theater is in the center of Belfort on the west bank of the river, a few minutes walk southwest of the old town along boulevard Carnot. 

For information on opening times or performances visit www.theatregranit.com (in French) or call +33 3 84 58 67 67.

Belfort is only a short drive from Le Corbusier's chapel at Ronchamp.

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