Refuges d’illusions techniques : deux salles de cinéma de Paul Auscher

Abstract

Houses of scenic illusion : two cinemas built by Paul Auscher. The architecture of cinemas at the beginning of the twentieth century was still close to that of meeting rooms or concert halls. Their owners were not always convinced that the new entertainment form would be a lasting success and wanted to be able to reconvert the premises should the cinema prove to be a flop. But this situation evolved very rapidly. The new cinema built by Auscher in 1913 in Paris (rue La Condamine, in the 17th arrondissement, today demolished) had a rectangular floor plan with rows of seating in line. The creation of a balcony supported by reinforced concrete pillars is an innovation compared to traditional theatre architecture. In 1919, Auscher’s second cinema building, the « Marcadet-Cinéma-Palace », in the me Marcadet in the 18th arrondissement (also demolished today) had a trapezoidal plan with seating layed out concentrically. The theoretical treatises on cinema architecture dating from before the First World War and just after it allow the technical specificities of the new building type to be remarked upon, particularly in the way they differ from buildings for other types of spectacle. The place of the orchestra, the visibility of the screen, security measures against fire risks are some of the problems calling for new solutions. Similarly, the importance of the vestibule, the foyer-bar and the cloakroom are not the same in a cinema as elsewhere. Auscher’s solutions to these problems are interesting ones and his façades reveal a significant evolution from the point of view of their ornamentation. His first cinema is richly decorated, corresponding with a desire for an «advertising » façade. The formal simplification of the years 1910 to 1914 is to be seen in the façade of the « Marcadet-Batignolles-Palace », Auscher’s last building which also demonstrated his skill in putting the resources of reinforced concrete to work.