The Palais de la musique et des congrès is a congress palace in Strasbourg. Located in the Wacken district next to the exhibition park and European institutions, it brings together spaces dedicated to congresses, conferences, music concerts, forums, and temporary exhibitions. The complex includes three auditoriums: salle Érasme with 1,876 seats, salle Schweitzer with 1,182 seats, and salle Cassin with 515 seats. It also contains ten plenary rooms, fifteen commission rooms, six exhibition spaces, and six dining areas.
The project history began in 1962, when Pierre Pflimlin considered building a Palais de la Musique et des Congrès and first approached Le Corbusier for the design. Le Corbusier visited Strasbourg and the proposed site near place de Bordeaux, where he made a sketch and a preliminary design and model. After his death in 1965, the project was entrusted to the municipal architecture service in 1971, and construction in glass and concrete began. The building was later enlarged and modernized after a 2011 competition, with renovation work delivered in summer 2016. The project included rehabilitation and extension surfaces, and a new aluminum pleated façade altered the appearance of the external pillars and the building as a whole.
Nearby Objects
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Synagogue de la Paix 850 m away -
Palais des Fêtes 1000 m away -
Palais du Rhin 1200 m away -
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Place de la République 1200 m away
Location and Functions of the Palais de la Musique et des Congres
The Palais de la Musique et des Congres is a congress palace located in Strasbourg. It consists of a complex dedicated to congresses, conferences, and music concerts. The venue also hosts forums and temporary exhibitions, giving it a broad public and cultural role. It is situated in the Wacken district, next to the exhibition park and European institutions.
Design and Construction History
The project for the future Palais des Congres was first considered by Pierre Pflimlin in 1962, when he approached Le Corbusier to design it. Le Corbusier, known for projects such as the Berlin Palais des Congres and the Cite radieuse in Marseille, received Pflimlin and his colleagues at his atelier on rue de Sevres. He refused contact with any administration, but agreed to work with Pflimlin personally. After visiting Strasbourg and the proposed site near place de Bordeaux, which he described as beautiful because it was bordered by a river, he produced a preliminary design and model.
Le Corbusier died in 1965 before completing the project design. The project was then entrusted to the municipal architecture service in 1971. Construction works in glass and concrete were launched, but the site required plan revisions and demolition in order to create an orchestra pit for subsidy qualification. The building was inaugurated by Pierre Pflimlin.
The presentation spaces included three auditoriums: salle Erasme with 1,876 seats, salle Schweitzer with 1,182 seats, and salle Cassin with 515 seats. It also comprised ten plenary rooms, fifteen commission rooms, six exhibition spaces, and six dining areas. Following a 2011 competition, the Palais des Congres was enlarged and modernized by the architecture group Rey-Lucquet + associes/Dietrich-Untertrifaller.
2016 Renovation and Facade Update
The renovation work on the Palais de la musique et des congres began and was completed in summer 2016. The project combined rehabilitation with extension surfaces, and the overall renovation cost amounted to 52.68 million euros excluding taxes. A new aluminum pleated facade was introduced, modernizing the external pillars and changing the building's overall appearance.