Le Channel is a popular arts venue in Calais, Northern France. Established in 1983 as a centre of cultural development, it has evolved over the years, and was granted the title “scène nationale” by the Minister of Culture in 1991.
In 1999 François Delarozière, the artistic director of innovative street theatre company, La Machine, was appointed to design a new concert hall.
The association with La Machine continued over the years, with the team creating a giant spider for the Libertés de séjour event in 2011.
When the team at Le Channel decided in 2016 to change their fixed tiered seating for a mobile and retractable seating system, they naturally asked François Delarozière to look after the design.
As La Machine had no prior experience of designing mobile or retractable stands, they decided that the best route was to work with an established company which specializes in telescopic seating systems.
After investigating a couple of companies which were considered the best in the market, they appointed us to carry out the design, production and installation of the stand.
We then worked very closely with La Machine to implement their aesthetics in our design.
After a seating system incident in December 2015, it was clear we needed to make a clean break and replace the existing seating arrangement with a completely new system. The design of the new bleachers had two very important criteria to satisfy; they must be functional and create an atmosphere of complete safety and reassurance for our audience.
We chose a telescopic stand manufactured by Master Industrie to satisfy the safety and functionality aspect; and for the aesthetic factor we approached the La Machine Company to work on the decor (bench, floors and railings).
The seating system is very beautiful and is unlike any other. It fits perfectly with the architectural surroundings of Le Channel. From this point of view it’s a success.
In terms of functionality it’s also a treat. Fully retractable and movable in order to save space with simple using and handling features, it's designed to allow a sitting-standing configuration reflecting the idea we have of a theater; always changing, never set in stone.
In conclusion, we are more than satisfied with our seating system. We would add that it was a pleasure to work with Master Industrie. A company which, at every level created a friendly working atmosphere, offered real expertise and a real ability to listen.
Everything in the project is bespoke, following the main creative ideas of showing the structure instead of hiding it and using as many raw materials as possible. We also designed a completely new bench seat for the stand.
One of the biggest challenges was the lead time. We had only a couple of months to design, produce and install the huge retractable stand, which is 8 meters high and moves by 50 meters in the hall, with the help of collision detection systems.
Feedback from our client and from the venue’s audiences has been excellent and several press articles have noted that the nicest retractable stand in France is in Calais!