The true origins of the Domaine de Bayssan remain a secret of the past, but we know that its toponymy dates to the Gallo-Roman period, a period in which the city of Béziers experienced an economic expansion and emerged in history.

Today the city is home to the Domaine de Bayssan Theater, a place of cultural and artistic freedom, which has the noble goal of becoming a source of entertainment and training for the less informed public.

The theatre has been renovated in 2016, in order to replace the three canvases with more resistant and modern structures. The will was to maintain the circus’ soul that represented the cultural vocation of the place so well. For this reason, the project has taken inspiration from the marquees that were present in the area, providing a small structure for reception facilities, a big one for the rehearsals and performances and a larger, open-air amphitheatre that completes the configuration.

The cultural program of the theatre is very miscellaneous, so as to satisfy the tastes of both those frequent enjoyers and the general public. In this way, however, a lot of flexibility was required from the structures that hosted the performances, having to adapt to its multiple uses.

With this goal in mind, the three structures were made of steel and wood modules, following the classical radiant corolla pattern around the central mast.

The area surrounding the 3 canvases was designed to recall the geometric pattern of the three structures, which is why the COBRA bench modules were chosen.

COBRA is a curved bench with a wooden seat and a steel supporting structure, exactly like the three modern canvases. Its ray pattern fits perfectly with the design of the project and its continuous and minimal shape blends with the surrounding environment. The whole COBRA collection can be equipped with two distinct types of support, one made of steel sheet and the other of steel plate.

Wood was chosen as the main material for the project due to its consonance with the territory and the nearby vernacular architecture. The central idea of the project was to find shapes and materials the more compatible as possible with the place. Wood was also selected for its ecological benefits in contrast to the more modern materials.

All Metalco products, such as the COBRA line, are available on the company’s website, from where you can download the digital catalogue for free.

Project manager: Atelier VOLGA / Atelier NEBBIA and K ARCHITECTURE.

Published on June 3, 2022