Pushing back the boundaries of architecture
The Lyon Auditorium is a colossal vessel in concrete and steel, whose distinctive silhouette has featured in the heart of the Part-Dieu district for over 40 years.
In 2019, the Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon acquired a new venue, the Espace découverte (Learning Area), dedicated to learning about and playing music in the centre of the Part-Dieu district. It is equipped with an impressive stock of instruments and facilities for young children, and hosts Ateliers sonores (Sound Workshops) around the year. It is also used during school hours and the times before and after school for special projects, and by day-care centres during the school holidays.
A VENUE DESIGNED AND EQUIPPED FOR LIVING MUSIC TO THE FULL
This venue was designed by the cultural outreach teams from the Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon in collaboration with an acoustics engineer and an architect. Everything has been designed to enable each person to experience music to the full:
• Special-purpose materials (panels, ceiling, soft flooring to avoid reverberations, windows, etc.) have been used to provide optimal acoustics wherever the listener is located.
• Suitable furniture is available for the youngest users (small chairs, mats, etc.).
• Lighting, multimedia and sound equipment can be adapted to the workshop’s format and requirements.
• The room layout adapts to each workshop: the positioning of the participants and the musical instruments, the choice and arrangement of the furniture, the lighting, etc.
OVER 120 INSTRUMENTS OF ALL SIZES
The Espace découverte is equipped with a stock of orchestral instruments. Some instruments are adapted to the size of the children for easier handling and testing.
• 20 stringed instruments: 5 violins, 3 violas, 8 cellos, 4 double basses.
• 10 woodwinds: 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 1 bassoon.
• 11 brass instruments: 3 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 euphonium and 1 tuba.
• Over 80 percussion instruments: triangles, maracas, bell sticks, rain sticks, güiros, tambourines, auditory decoys, metallophones, xylophones, etc.
> See a complete list of sound workshops for the 2022/2023 season
Businesses can privatise the Learning Area for holding their event. Find out more.
The Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon thanks the City of Lyon, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Ministry of Culture, who made it possible to create the Espace découverte.
An ambitious symphony concert hall in the heart of Lyon
The Auditorium’s impressive concrete shell holds an outstanding symphony concert hall that is home to the Orchestre national de Lyon.
The Atrium, a real gathering place
The Atrium adjoins the main concert hall and is a popular gathering place before and after concerts.
The Salle Proton-de-la-Chapelle, a novel venue
The Salle Proton (Proton Hall) used to be the rehearsal room for the Orchestre national de Lyon and is now the Auditorium’s second concert hall. Known formally as the Salle Proton de la Chapelle, this novel venue has a magnificent prestressed concrete cathedral ceiling typical of 1970s architecture. It is now used as a concert venue for small-scale concerts and other small and atypical events, in particular during the Auditorium’s theme weekends.