Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

Maison de la Radio et de la Musique, nicknamed “maison ronde” (“the round house”) is the headquarters of Radio France. It is located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris near the Eiffel Tower. Built in the shape of huge ring 500 meters in circumference, with a central utility tower, the building houses the administrative offices, broadcasting studios, and performance spaces for all of Radio France's national stations and its four permanent ensembles—Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre national de France, Chœur de Radio France and Maîtrise de Radio France. The building was designed by Henry Bernard and completed in 1963. It underwent a major renovation beginning in 2005 and began reopening to the public in 2014 with the inauguration of its new auditorium. After World War II, the French government had organised the state-owned radio and television channels into a single body, Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF). However its offices and studios were spread out over forty different locations in Paris. In 1952 the decision was made to construct a central headquarters which would house all the offices and studios in one location. The government acquired a 38,000 square meter tract of land in the 16th arrondissement on the banks of the Seine for the future building. Previously the site of a gasworks which had been decommissioned in 1928, and then a stadium, the location was considered ideal because of its proximity to the Eiffel Tower and its radio transmitters. A competition was held in 1953 to choose the architect. The winner from the 26 entrants was Henry Bernard who had won the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1938 and had participated in the post-war reconstruction of Caen. The final model of the Maison was exhibited in March 1959 at the newly opened Centre of New Industries and Technologies (CNIT). The building was completed four years later and officially inaugurated by Charles de Gaulle on 14 December 1963.