“Music City” might seem like a simple translation but the Villa de la Musique is so much more. This complex is now known as Philharmonie 2. It stands as a testament to musical dedication in Paris’s 19th arrondissement.
The Villa de la Musique is part of the Parc de la Villette. This was once Paris’s slaughterhouse district. It was reinvented under François Mitterrand’s Grands Projets. Architect Christian de Portzamparc designed the Villa de la Musique. It opened in 1995 alongside the Conservatoire de Paris.
Imagine Portzamparc’s vision: an open light space. He wanted to create a place that invites meetings. The Villa de la Musique combines the Conservatoire and a music museum. There are also concert halls and rehearsal spaces. It has all the spaces needed for music education.
President Mitterrand decided to create a multicultural site in 1983. Portzamparc won the architectural bid in 1985. He aimed to design a “dream city” for Grand Paris. The design is inspired by seashells. A winding street organizes the building spaces. Students can freely meet within its vertical and horizontal streets. The Conservatoire and the Villa de la Musique become a unified space for rhythm and sound.
The Villa de la Musique has multiple openings that reveal its interior. Some musicians say it takes fifteen days to learn how to get around inside. The Villa de la Musique combines several buildings. Small passages, stairs, and quiet corners create a set of interconnected spaces. These allow perspective and light to multiply.
Composer Pierre Boulez said that the Villa de la Musique changes as you move through it. He said that it is comparable to music. The concert halls, museum, amphitheater, library, rehearsal rooms, and administrative areas are behind a glass shell. This is the Rue Musicale. It serves as the entrance hall where all roads meet.
Portzamparc saw architecture as an invitation to life and movement. He did not see it as a static level. He saw it as tracks. Like music, architecture is perceived in time and sequences.
Inside the Villa de la Musique, the West Wing houses the Paris Conservatoire. This wing accommodates 1,200 students. The building is divided into four blocks separated by corridors of light. Rooms are acoustically isolated. The Conservatoire has classrooms, examination rooms, orchestra sets, amphitheatres, rehearsal rooms, auditoriums, a media center, student housing, a gym, and a café.
The East Wing opens onto the park. It includes concert halls, a music museum, an organology center, an amphitheater, student residences, an educational institute, a multimedia library, offices, rehearsal rooms, music stores, and a café. Each space is raised as an object. The pieces are assembled into a large triangular block crossed by a spiral gallery.
The concert hall is designed for all styles of music. Pierre Boulez wanted a rectangular room. Christian Portzamparc wanted an elliptical room. The Concert Hall of the Philharmonic 2 is a meeting of both styles. Its rectangular plan is open to configurations. Balconies reveal the ellipsoidal shape of the room.
The amphitheater is perfect for chamber music. It has a capacity of 250 people. Its baroque organ is used by students and during concerts.
The Music Museum is a space for dialogue between musical craftsmanship and musical practice. The library offers a quiet place for reading about music. The Villa de la Musique also has educational spaces.
In 2015, the Philharmonie de Paris was built. It has concert halls, exhibition halls, rehearsal rooms, educational services, restaurants, and bars.
So as you stand here take a moment to appreciate the Villa de la Musique. It is more than a building. It is a vibrant ecosystem dedicated to the art of music.