Théâtre Océan Nord has moved into a former car garage. Architects Victoire Chancel and Carla Frick-Cloupet were asked to reinvent the foyer and reception areas: access, ticketing and bar facilities. Starting from a simple decompartmentalization of space, they implemented a series of project tools that deconstruct the duality of architectural theory and practice. Modest though it is, this project is ambitious from a methodological point of view.

The change in status from former garage to theatre foyer is made explicit by a few colourful decorative elements. A game of make-believe can be seen in the choice of materials but also in the spatial layout: two new red concrete steps completely restructure the landscape of the garage floor and its access ramp. Set elements are reused, such as the ochre curtain made by artist Rachel Magnan from bleached velvet, playing on its ambivalence as a stage curtain. The imagination is called upon to see, not a garage, but a set element evoking a theatre.