LA SOUCOUPE

Located on the Plaine des Sports site in the heart of the city of Saint-Nazaire and listed as a Historic Monument, the Soucoupe is one of the symbols of Saint-Nazaire sport, but above all of the creativity of the architects of the 1950s Reconstruction. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Saint-Nazaire, which had been largely destroyed by Allied bombing raids to liberate the city, decided to fill in the "Grand Marais" and set about developing a gigantic leisure complex comprising a 26-hectare landscaped park and a 20-hectare sports park. The Parc des Sports project was entrusted to architect Roger Vissuzaine and landscape architect Albert Audias, who presented a preliminary design in 1950. In 1962, the city of Saint-Nazaire decided to build a "revolutionary" sports hall. The project was entrusted to architects Roger Vissuzaine and René Rivière. The new facility would be able to host both sporting and cultural events all year round. La Soucoupe can accommodate up to 3,500 people. The architects proposed an innovative construction in the form of an inclined spherical dome with a surface area of 16,00 m². The use of reinforced concrete, a material that is both strong and light, creates a large open volume with no load-bearing walls or pillars, enabling the public to enjoy the show wherever they are in the hall.