TAP - The fantastic new cultural facility opens in Poitiers

Description:

Saturday 6 September saw the inauguration of the new Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers (TAP), the bright yellow structure that has emerged on the Poitiers skyline close to the TGV station.  Eight years in the building, at a cost of 56.3m€, the structure houses both a large auditorium and theatre within the 33,000 square meters of floor space on 8 levels, 12,000 square meters of which are devoted to car parking.

The project represents a collaboration between the City of Poitiers, the Ministry of Culture and both departmental and regional councils, although the City have covered some 62% of the overall funding of the project.  The Theatre has a capacity of 722, whilst the Auditorium can accommodate 1,020 concert-goers. 

The structure was designed principally by Portuguese architect João Luis Carrilho da Graçan in association with specialists for acoustics ‘Commins A', and for scenography ‘Scene'.  Labelled the Times Square of Poitiers, the opaque-glass façade will be used as a screen for projecting images, such as advertisements and extracts from shows, whilst inside there are facilities such as a recording studio, bars, practice rooms and a restaurant with an open-air terrace overlooking the Boivre Valley. 

Last Saturdays inauguration saw a packed and varied range of artists, from orchestral to rock/indie and electronic music, as well as a range of dance styles, all performed over a 12 hour event.

The new programme of entertainment gets underway in earnest in October, with new-age country act Alain Bashung one of four events programmed for the month.