Metz congress center
Metz, France
Client: METZ MÉTROPOLE MOSELLE CONGRES (M3Congrès)
Control Authority Delegated: VILLE DE METZ ET METZ MÉTROPOLE
Manager: GL EVENTS
Authorised representative: EIFFAGE CONSTRUCTION
Architect: WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS
Structure, Facade, Sustainable development: ARTELIA
Building services: QUADRIPLUS
Scenography: SCENE
Acoustics: PEUTZ & ASSOCIÉS
Landscaper: NEVEUX-ROUYER
15 300 sqm
2018
Construction of the Metz congress centre.
With a surface area of 15,300 sqm, the Metz Congress Centre is located in a district undergoing major change, opposite the Centre Pompidou-Metz, and in close connection with the central station. This building forms a link between the new Amphitheatre district and the historic centre of Metz, two diametrically opposed architectural worlds.
The Congress Centre is intrinsically linked to the central station. In addition to local and regional visitors, this strategic location also enables it to attract travellers. More than just a building for receiving the public and organising events, the Congress Centre aims to become a real place of passage, lively and attractive.
To give the building a strong identity, the façades have been the subject of specific work. They are inspired by the play of light and shadow on the façade of the Cathedral, with a perforated mesh combining opacity and transparency. The façade treatment thus gives the image of a stone curtain that creates a play of cast shadows and natural light. Jaumont stone was chosen because it is a strong identifying feature of Metz’s heritage. It is used in the Congress Centre as a tribute to the local architectural heritage.
The project presented a number of challenges: to successfully fit a 15,300 sqm building with a variety of uses onto a limited plot of land, to create a dialogue with the Centre Pompidou-Metz, and to provide a relevant introduction to the new district from the station.
Jean-Michel Wilmotte
architect
The project opens up as much as possible to the city. It is inspired by the local identity and enhances it, both through its architecture and through the views it offers of the surrounding heritage. The public spaces and circulation inside the building naturally lead the visitor to strategic or emblematic places in the city: views of the Cathedral, the Centre Pompidou-Metz, the train station, etc.
The Convention Centre has five levels: a ground floor, a ground floor, two upper levels and a mezzanine. Each level offers a clear programme and a set of lateral walkways allowing users to make the most of the panoramic views over the city.
The Metz Congress Centre will provide a third face to the Parvis des Droits de l'Homme triangle on Rue aux Arènes, but above all, it will enrich the cultural offer of the territory and its attractiveness.
