Our proposed architecture aims to ensure consistency in terms of space and functionality, offering a strong presence without being too ostentatious. In line with the city and its history, the architecture is peaceful to reflect the environment, and much needed to give new momentum to the site. The site reserved for the new music and dance academy (MDA) is a highly strategic location. At a point between the old city, the new city and nature, the building is located at a crossroads between land, rail and nautical routes. It is a powerful marker in the La Rochelle landscape with national influence. The MDA’s exceptional location is almost aligned with the city’s famous fortifications (Lanterne, Chaîne and Saint-Nicolas towers). As a result, the project fits in with this collection of monuments but in more symbolic terms, along the path marking the city’s development beyond the former defensive structures. It must meet the requirements of a public building whilst remaining distinctive, like the region’s monuments, without disruption, peacefully and sustainably; a single building limiting the number of materials, as if it were carved out of the same piece of material, in this case stone. The building could be seen as a logo, a marker in the broader urban landscape, a flagship helping to understand and appreciate the region. Stone is used in most older buildings in the region. It is a particularly even limestone, with a clear, soft and porous coating which is easy to carve. This ensures it is high quality. Sometimes a classic arrangement, sometimes jutting out or recessed, sometimes present, sometimes absent, with mashrabiya, and the stone playing with the light and controlling it. Between moulding and texture, depending on their position the façades continually change “face”: the shadows created by the building’s offsets and folds, changing throughout the day and seasons depending on the sun’s position. This feature, combined with large, carefully-placed bay windows, ensures the building is well-suited to being a public facility.