A cultural and social space centered around cinema, employment, and healthy eating. We were selected to transform a commercial building into a cultural third-place, proposing a restructuring approach that minimizes our carbon footprint (through material reuse and bio-based materials) and energy consumption.

The project is centered around cinema, featuring the creation of two screening rooms: one certified as an arthouse cinema (“art et essai”) and the other dedicated to young audiences.

The cinema experience extends into a café-bar. The venue also serves as a creative hub with a dedicated production cluster including an editing room, a rehearsal room, and filming and recording studios.

The programming also focuses on youth employment and cultural entrepreneurship through the on-site presence of the local youth employment agency (Mission Locale). Healthy, sustainable food (“bien manger”) plays a central role with a solidarity grocery store, shared kitchens, and a restaurant.

This building is both innovative and necessary given the evolution of our society. The pandemic and the rise of streaming platforms have led to declining cinema attendance. The model must change. This third-place—where multi-programming takes center stage and emerging creative forces come together—offers an opportunity to spark renewed enthusiasm for movie theaters and become a popular, attractive landmark serving the residents of Paris’s 18th arrondissement and beyond.

(Crédits photo mentionnés en légende : © Josephine Brueder, © Zorine Ould-Mohand)