Study commissioned by the French Minister of Culture for a new design of the Canal area that, although it's contiguous to the Place Stanislas, hearth of the historical centre, is empty and rather abandoned. The project gives it a new dignity, in a spirit of continuity with the splendid classical architecture of the town centre, but also with the terrific rupture brought by the new Auditorium in the shape of an ark. This takes its inspiration from the Cathedral, thus enforcing the identity of the city.