Home » News » Raw earth and raw concrete for Grand Central, the future cinema in Colomiers

Raw earth and raw concrete for Grand Central, the future cinema in Colomiers

In France, the number of small and medium-sized cinemas is aging. A finding that convinced ID Ciné to position itself as a single point of contact for communities and municipalities on this issue. “Depending on the project, we act as delegated contracting authority or promoter-builder and our mission is to offer turnkey projects,” explains Henry Maître, the founder and director of ID Ciné. From the audit, depending on the market and the existing cinemas, through the legal and financial arrangement, the search for investors, the connection with an operator and the monitoring of the site, ID Ciné is defined as a firm of ‘expertise in the renovation and / or construction of local cinemas.

Founded in 2017, the company now has six employees and has a turnover of nine million euros. With several projects in the pipeline, Henry Maitre plans to build six cinemas in the next five years, including at least three in Occitanie and Aquitaine.

Five rooms, 762 seats and raw earth

In the Toulouse area, the current project is located in Colomiers. “Here, the context was typically that of an aging cinema with two theaters, no longer corresponding to the needs of a population which has increased sharply in recent years”, describes Henry Maître. The city launched a public service delegation won by a private consortium: Véo Cinéma (operator), which also runs the Véo Muret cinema, and ID Ciné (promoter-builder). The future “Grand Central” cinema, located in the city center, opposite the Comminges hall and near the Voltaire college, will therefore have five screens and 762 seats. The ongoing 2,500 m2 site costs 5.5 million euros, supported financially by Véo Cinéma, and is due to be completed in November 2021.

“It won’t be like any other cinema, because we only build prototypes. It is above all a sustainable construction, with a low carbon footprint, thanks to the use of local materials such as wood (from Corrèze) and 140 tonnes of raw earth (rammed earth) excavated from a site located in less than 5 km ”, indicates Henry Maitre. Indeed, the reception hall, which represents 30% of the building, will be built in raw earth. Visually, the facade will alternate framing of load-bearing earthen walls and windows. The elements of the roof terrace, made of wood, will be placed on load-bearing adobe 50 cm thick. Above, concrete modules, clad in metal, will house the cinemas.

After Colomiers, ID Ciné will build, again with Véo Cinéma, the future cinema of the Cartoucherie, which will find its place in hall 128 and for which “the filing of the building permit is imminent”, according to henry Maître.
Beatrice Girard

On the photo: The construction site is progressing in Colomiers for the Grand Central cinema built in wood, raw earth and raw concrete. Credit: ID Ciné.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.