“All the world is a stage, and people are merely players”. W. Shakespeare.
The land
plot where the designed building is to be located comprises two
irregular
rectangles with the areas of approximately 400 and 240 square
meters. The
larger rectangle adjoins the street, the smaller one is located in
the recess
of the plot.
The key
space and layout concept is that all the public areas be located in
the larger
rectangle that adjoins the street, so that these areas could have
the maximal
visual communication therewith, while the limited use areas,
such as
utilities, lavatories, household and technical premises be located in
the
rectangle that lies farther away from the street, that is, in the recess of
the land
plot.
A task not
less important was to save the character element of Moulin
Rouge,
namely the mill itself. The outside facade is designed as a vitrage,
its main
frame being supported by the board “DanceSchool” via which
visitors
and school students enter the building. The middle of the vitrage
portrays
the mill’s revolving arms. The mill’s dimensions and locations are
retained.
The vitrage is designed as a feeder deepened towards the mill’s
arms and
consists of blind areas that imitate the surface of outside walls of
buildings
and areas with mirror glass that reflects the surrounding buildings,
the sky,
the people going by, which, in combination with the mill’s revolving
arms would
create the effect of permanent movement, while the feeder
would
create the effect as if the entire space around were drawn into the
center of
the building. The central entrance and hall are designed as the
mill base.
The first
floor houses an entrance area with a hall, a security room, and
cash desks.
The public area houses a semi-deepened museum with
galleries
on both sides where exhibits could also be demonstrated. In the
recess
there are men’s and ladies’ rooms and locker rooms for students.
The second
floor houses a gift shop, a bookstore and a cafeteria with a
kitchen; in
the recess there are men’s and ladies’ rooms and locker rooms
for
students.
The three
floor houses study rooms with a movable partition that allows for
uniting two
premises in one. Administrative premises are located in the
private
area.
The next
upper floors house study rooms; the uppermost floor houses a
gym with
open terraces for rest and classes. Between the outside vitrage
and the
public area premises there is a multi-light space onto which
balconies
look out; from such balconies the visitors could follow the classes
without
getting in – this would enhance the transparency and visual
accessibility
of the studying process – or have rest admiring the Paris
streets
from the upper floors.