Viry SA - Construction métalliques

Congress centre

The Grimaldi Forum stands on the waterfront and has a gross floor area of some 35 000 m2, modular throughout, to allow for the simultaneous staging of events ranging from congresses and seminars to exhibitions. Two thirds under sea level, the building has ten floors. In its lowest part is an auditorium with 1900 seats and almost 1000 m2 of stage space, while at surface level emerges a glass prism whose transparent façades invite visitors to discover the facility. The grand hall alone is a technical feat: 4000 m2 all in one piece - a huge light-filled room with no intermediate supports. The roof is composed of a three-dimensional tubular structure in two aprons spaced 2,50 m apart, with the sloping glass held by a guyed structure and the other glass clamped into place. To conform to anti-earthquake norms, the building sits on a single main foundation block, with sliding secondary supports resting on subjacent blocks.