Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Geode, designed by architect Adrien Faisilber and engineer Gérard Chamayou, is a geodetic dome 36 metres in diameter, inaugurated on 6 May 1985 by President François Mitterrand. Located in the Parc de la Villette (19th arrondissement of Paris), its spherical structure consists of 6,433 polished steel triangles reflecting light as a mirror. Although it was inaugurated before the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, it is now attached to it, after having been managed independently until 2017.

Originally, the Geode was a cinema room equipped with a giant hemispheric screen (26 meters in diameter) projecting films in IMAX OMNIMAX format, with a sound system signed Cabasse. Its attendance, initially high (1 million visitors in 1985), declined with the emergence of more immersive technologies such as 3D or virtual reality, falling below 300,000 entries in 2016. This decline led to its closure in 2018 for renovation, after 33 years of activity.

The Geode symbolized the futurism of the 1980s, even serving as a stage for music clips, such as Living Elsewhere by Jakie Quartz in 1986. His name, chosen to evoke a mineral geode (crystalline heart surrounded by a gangue), was preferred to fanciful proposals such as Bouboule or Zézette, after an expensive study criticized by the Court of Auditors. The structure, innovative for the time, includes a reflective steel casing, an internal metal frame, and a 6 000-ton reinforced concrete room, supported by a central pillar.

In 2017, after the end of its status as a mixed economy (held by University and the Caisse des dépôts), the Geode is privatized. Pathé, selected among three buyers, starts a major renovation estimated between 3 and 6 million euros. The room finally reopens in December 2024 after six years of work, equipped with a 4K screen, a laser projector, and an IMAX 6.0 sound system, reducing its capacity to 300 seats for increased comfort.

The building, separated from the Cité des sciences, is based on a complex design: its steel triangles, non-jointed, allow thermal expansion, while the water infiltrating between them is collected in a peripheral basin. This basin also houses Clepsydre, a 12-plot sound installation marking hours since 1990. The Geode also marked the news with events such as its transformation into a giant balloon for Adidas (2003) or Tesla reel during the 2018 White Night.

Producing certain films itself (such as Water and Men or Origin Ocean), the Geode played a pioneering role in immersive cinema in France. Despite economic and technological challenges, it remains an architectural and cultural symbol of Paris, combining industrial heritage and audiovisual innovation.

External links