The Munt palace has been in use for two weeks and the first production of <I>B
Belgium - Due to renovations, the Royal Munt Theatre in Brussels needed temporary accommodation elsewhere at short notice. Veldeman provided a quick, qualitative solution and built the Munt Palace on the site of Tour & Taxi's, an opera house which was made to measure with a capacity of welcoming up to 1,100 people. An imposing TFS (Tension Fabric Structure) tent of 3,200sq.m will accommodate the opera productions until at least the end of 2016.

A storey tent of 25m by 40m serves as an entrance hall and VIP room. A true eye-catcher is the facade which has been personalised in a beautiful way, referring to the Munt's pediment in the heart of Brussels. The entrance and covered terrace were luxuriously decorated with wooden walls, wooden ceiling and a beautiful new bankirai floor. This highly qualitative decoration was maintained on the inside as well. The cloakroom was walled by upholstered wooden walls and around the support poles on the ground floor, bar tables were made to measure. Among other things, eye-catchers in the interior are the original decor pieces of De Munt.

Visitors to the Munt palace won't have any lack of comfort. A stylish transition has been made from the entrance hall to the opera hall. Acoustics are extremely important for opera performances. Thanks to the enormous interior space of the TFS, it provided the opportunity to improve the acoustics by using special upholstering. The theatre setup and large, clear span area without central supports guarantee opera lovers a perfect view of the scene. All possible means were used to reduce noise to a minimum. Therefore, a flooring system with 4 layers consisting of a classic wooden cassette floor topped with a sound-absorbing carpet, OSB boards for strength and the ability to carry the weight of the tribunes as well as stylish carpet tiles to finish off with. Also in terms of the heating system, the choice was made for a low noise system.

In the meantime, the Munt palace has been in use for two weeks and the first production of Béatrice & Bénédict has just finished.

Technical assistant director Frankie Goethals comments, "As we have had very little time to prepare, we decided to work with Veldeman; a company that has an excellent reputation. The cooperation ran smoothly from the beginning, despite the exceptional deadline. The budget as well as the planning were very transparent and all deadlines were respected. The follow-up went very well. We have asked for many extras which were never a problem. Solutions were always looked for. One of the things we asked for very late was to have a storey tent placed, which was done within a week.

So far, about 10 performances have taken place in the Munt Palace. The comments of the attendees and subscribers are full of praise. The accommodation is perceived as a real theatre. You don't have the feeling you're in a tent at all, but rather in a beautiful warm place. The finish is tof exceptionally high quality."

(Jim Evans)


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