GRU-Stern

The commission for the Théâtre du Grütli called for an extra muros venue dedicated to theatrical and musical activity. The project stages two architectural ideas: the ellipse as a social condenser, and the reuse of obsolete freight containers, presented “as found.” Installed in a public space at the city’s core, it is the pure expression of nonchalance.

The interplay of the perfect ellipse — a symbol of geometric purity — with the patina and wear of time embedded in the containers generates a visual and emotional tension: between rigor and fragility, the ideal and the real. The ellipse embodies the immutable, a timeless form, while the container carries the scars of obsolescence, its history etched into its very material.

The modular structure offers the opportunity to experience artistic events in three dimensions, questioning the appropriation of spatial cells, the shifting relationship between actors and audience, and the role of architecture itself as a catalyst for human interaction.