Montreal workshop Atelier Paul Laurendeau designed an amphitheater (more precisely, a summer theater) with a rectangular roof for the town of Trois-Rivieres in the province of Quebec. For construction, a site was given on an elevation (there was previously a paper mill), which is the arrow of two rivers merging almost at right angles: the St. Lawrence River and the St. Maurice River. These two factors influenced the visual perception of the building: to residents, it looks like a ship drifting over an old Canadian city. The similarities are added by the huge six-meter letters made of glued wood, which make up the name of the city - like the name of a large container ship. Note that despite its modest size (the population is slightly more than 126 thousand people), Trois-Rivieres is an important transit hub for North America.
The design of the Paul Lorando bureau was selected following a competition in 2011, with the municipality as the customer. Local authorities wanted a “point of attraction” to be created in Trois Riviera that would bring people together and combine recreational and cultural functions. In July 2015, the construction of the amphitheater was completed and it immediately became a city landmark. A distinctive feature of the building is a thin "floating" rectangular roof with sides 80 x 90 m. It is supported by eight thin (each 850 mm in diameter) 26-meter columns and can shelter up to 3,500 spectators from rain. Another 5,200 seats are located outside the walls of the amphitheater, on the lawn next to it.
The roofing material was galvanized steel sheets (6.4 mm). To make the roof look thin and weightless, its overall thickness along the perimeter was reduced to a minimum, to only 22 mm, while in the central part it reaches 6 meters. It is there that the working walkways are located, which give access to stage and lighting equipment. At night, the roof below is highlighted in red. The project budget amounted to 41 million Canadian dollars (about 31 million 877 thousand US dollars).
From May to September, the Cogeco stage is used as a cultural venue. In winter, only its inner part is used - as an exhibition hall or a meeting place for 700 people.
