Maison de la Radio et de la Musique, nicknamed “maison ronde” (“the round house”) is the headquarters of

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

. It is located in the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...

near the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

. Built in the shape of huge ring 500 meters in circumference, with a central utility tower, the building houses the administrative offices, broadcasting studios, and performance spaces for all of Radio France's national stations and its four permanent ensembles—

Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra, affiliated with Radio France. The orchestra performs principally at the auditorium of the Maison de la Radio in Paris, along with several concerts at the Philharmonie de Pa ...

Orchestre national de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

, Chœur de Radio France and

Maîtrise de Radio France Maîtrise de Radio France (known as Maîtrise de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française prior to 1975) is the choir school of Radio France. The school and its choir were founded in 1946 by the composer Henry Barraud and the pedagogue Maurice D ...

. The building was designed by Henry Bernard and completed in 1963. It underwent a major renovation beginning in 2005 and began reopening to the public in 2014 with the inauguration of its new auditorium.

History

After World War II, the French government had organised the state-owned radio and television channels into a single body,

Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF; ''French Radio and Television Broadcasting'') was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...

(RTF). However its offices and studios were spread out over forty different locations in Paris. In 1952 the decision was made to construct a central headquarters which would house all the offices and studios in one location. The government acquired a 38,000 square meter tract of land in the 16th arrondissement on the banks of the

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for the future building. Previously the site of a gasworks which had been decommissioned in 1928, and then a stadium, the location was considered ideal because of its proximity to the

and its radio transmitters. A competition was held in 1953 to choose the architect. The winner from the 26 entrants was Henry Bernard who had won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in architecture in 1938 and had participated in the post-war reconstruction of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,French Government Archives
"Inauguration de la Maison de la radio"
Retrieved 20 October 2017 . The final model of the Maison was exhibited in March 1959 at the newly opened

Centre of New Industries and Technologies The Centre of New Industries and Technologies ( French: Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies, abbreviated CNIT), located in Puteaux, France, is the first building ever to be developed in La Défense, west of Paris, France. It functions ...

(CNIT). The building was completed four years later and officially inaugurated by

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

on 14 December 1963.In his speech de Gaulle emphasised the importance of broadcasting and of the building itself as a symbol of France's grandeur and modernity:

Radio is a human activity, in other words a collective activity. It is undoubtedly nourished by the skill of individuals. But to be valid, it needs the combined effort of teams. And this is why this complex and imposing, but unitary and circular building is a sign of the organization, concentration and cohesion that are necessary for its audience and its influence.

At the end of 1974, French television and radio were split into two separate organizations. The building became the headquarters of Radio France exclusively and known as ''Maison de la Radio''. In March 2003 the Paris Prefect of Police ordered the evacuation of the central tower because it no longer met fire-safety regulations. The 368 personnel who worked in the tower were transferred to another building on Rue du Général-Mangin. However, by this time the entire building was in need of major upgrading, repair, and refurbishment and a debate ensued as to whether it would be more appropriate and economical to build a completely new headquarters for Radio France. In the end it was decided to renovate the existing building with most of its personnel and broadcasting stations operating there during the project despite the extra costs this would entail. The process began in 2004 when an international competition was announced for the contract to design and carry out the renovation. In October 2005 the contract was awarded to

Architecture-Studio Architecture-Studio is a French architecture practice created in 1973 in Paris. Around its 14 partners, Architecture-Studio brings together an international team of architects, urban planners, interior designers, quantity surveyors and sustainabl ...

, with

acoustical engineering Acoustical engineering (also known as acoustic engineering) is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It includes the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typical ...

Nagata Acoustics is an international acoustical consultancy firm. In Japan they have been involved in the design of over seventy concert halls, including the Suntory Hall, Sapporo Concert Hall, Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall, Kyoto Concert Hall and Hyogo Performin ...

and ''Lamoureux'' and scenography works by ''Changement à vue'', and work began shortly thereafter. The initial budget for the work was

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

384 million, revised upwards in 2007 by €33 million to include an underground car park and a new organ for the main auditorium. The building was re-opened to the public in November 2014 with a gala concert by Radio France's two orchestras, the

and the

, in the Maison's newly constructed Grand Auditorium. In 2016, the renovated Studio 104 reopened with a concert featuring both classical music and performances by

Eddy Mitchell Claude Moine (; born 3 July 1942), known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks). He took the name ''Eddy'' from the American ...

and

Agnes Obel Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel (born 28 October 1980) is a Danish singer, songwriter, and musician based in Berlin. Her debut album, '' Philharmonics'' (2010), was released by PIAS Recordings, and was certified gold in June 2011 by the Belgian En ...

. However, final touches to the building and its landscaping would continue into 2017, lasting until late-2022. On 10 January 2021, the building was renamed Maison de la Radio et de la Musique. Radio France announced the completion of all rehabilitation works on the building on 2 December 2022.

Main public spaces

*The Grand Auditorium, inaugurated in 2014, is now the main concert space for Radio France's permanent ensembles—

, Chœur de Radio France and

. Created out of the old Studios 102 and 103 during the renovation, it has a seating capacity of 1462. The walls and balcony facades are covered in faceted panels of birch, beech and cherry wood. The organ, which was built by between 2012 and 2014, is 12 meters wide and has 5,320 pipes. *Studio 104, also known as the Salle

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

, was originally the main performance and broadcasting hall for the Radio France orchestras and choruses but was also used for concerts of contemporary and popular music. It seats 852 people and has been known since the Maison's construction in 1963 for its superior acoustics. The hall was closed for renovation from 2010 to 2016. During that time the seating was completely renovated, a choir stall was constructed to replace the organ which had been returned to

Notre-Dame de la Treille Lille Cathedral, the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Treille (french: Basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille de Lille), is a Roman Catholic church and basilica in Lille, France, and the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lille. An example of G ...

, and the original bas-relief sculptures by

Louis Leygue Louis Leygue (born 25 August 1905 in Bourg-en-Bresse) was a French sculptor and painter. As a sculptor he worked in the traditional stone but also pioneered the use of various metals. He was particularly adept in depicting horses. Biography E ...

which decorate its interior walls were cleaned and restored. It is now used both for public concerts and as rehearsal space for the Radio France orchestras and choruses.

France Musique France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on European classical music, classical music and jazz. Hist ...

. (4 January 2016
"Réouverture du mythique studio 104 de la Maison de la radio"
/ref>

In film

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

's 1965 dystopian science fiction film '' Alphaville'' was partially shot at Maison de la Radio. Goddard used no special props or futuristic sets. Instead, the film used recently built modernist glass and concrete buildings such as the Maison and the

CNIT The Centre of New Industries and Technologies ( French: Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies, abbreviated CNIT), located in Puteaux, France, is the first building ever to be developed in La Défense, west of Paris, France. It functio ...

that in 1965 were still considered new and strange architectural designs.

Nicolas Philibert Nicolas Philibert (; born 10 January 1951) is a French film director and actor. Biography Philibert's father was a film lecturer and he attended his talks in his youth. This encouraged him to embark on a film career. He started this with Ren� ...

's documentary film ', shot over a six-month period in 2011, won Best Documentary at the 2014 ''Étoiles d'or du cinéma français'' awards and was nominated for Best Documentary in the César Awards that same year.

ARTE France Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

(25 February 2014)
"«La Maison de la Radio» de Nicolas Philibert reçoit une Étoile d'or du cinéma 2014"
Retrieved 20 October 2017 .

References

External links

*
Architectural drawings and photographs of the 2005–2017 renovation project
by

, the project's main architects * {{Coord, 48.8526, 2.2782, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Radio France Buildings and structures in the 16th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures completed in 1963