Mazmat. Espace Apollo under construction to adapt to the times

Opened in 1994, Espace Apollo was born of the will of the city of Mazamet and its mayor, Michel Bourguignon. An ambitious cultural space has been created, growing and adaptable to the needs of the population. The concept was innovative, but after nearly 30 years, work to upgrade the cultural tool was essential. They are making rapid progress under the sponsorship of Bascoul, which has pledged to dig and pour 70 small molds inside that will support the slab of two new movie theaters. “6 months of work are planned,” explained David Viot, director of Régie Apollo, during the presentation of the project. In fact, there are three projects that will change the configuration of the site: the two cinemas, but also the accessibility and modernization of the building as well as the renovation of the media library. “The two halls have 52 seats, including 3 for people with special needs. Comfort with two screens of 5.20 m and 4.80 m in size, pleasant seats, distributed and arranged in staggered rows. A budget of 750 thousand euros is planned for this work.” For Mayor-Olivier Fabre, “These two cinemas are the right size in relation to the population. They are at scale for the viewer, who will present schedules, rotate films, will open the door to art and essay and will be able to create festivals.” Accessibility and building standards, carried out jointly, relate to mobility, visually impaired, hearing impaired, etc. who will benefit from the latest improvements in these areas. “This second very important project will save a budget of 320,000 euros,” added David Viot. On the media library side, Network Coordinator Kristel Marco identified, “The whole venue will be reorganized. After the partition separated from the Apollo is removed, the mobile units will provide a multifunctional space according to the needs of the audience and events. The small hall will be removed and we will use one of the new cinemas nearby. Reception, Redesigned, it will change places.” Meanwhile, the structure is closed during the week and open on Saturdays all day.

Funding: This work was commissioned by the Castres-Mazamet conglomerate community, which is responsible for the building, and contracting authority rests with Régie Apollo under the management of Olivier Fabre. For budgets, the state contributed €70,000, the district €164,000, the constituency €98,000, the conglomerate €230,000, and Reggie funds the rest.