Images showing the façade before and after the renovation.
A new life begins for this iconic cultural venue in Le Havre, combining heritage, innovation and acoustic excellence.
After 35 years of closure, the mythical cinema-theatre Le Normandy, located in Le Havre, has come back to life as part of a major rehabilitation project. This emblematic Art-Deco monument, deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of the city, is now reopening a new chapter, combining historical preservation with modern performance requirements.
As part of the renovation works, a floating concrete slab was installed to meet the high acoustic comfort requirements expected in a theatre environment, ensuring optimal conditions for spectators while limiting the transmission of structure-borne noise to adjacent areas.
Image: The image shows the acoustically treated floor surface in blue.
This large-scale rehabilitation project (total surface area of the slab on anti-vibration mounts exceeds 400 m²) was carried out through a collective effort where AMC MECANOCAUCHO® worked closely with the building engineering consultancy IBATEC-BOIS, contributing its expertise in vibration isolation and acoustic solutions. This collaboration made it possible to define and implement an optimized solution fully aligned with the acoustic and structural requirements of the project.
Selection of the FZH-57-37 + Sylomer® solution
The selection of the FZH-57-37 + Sylomer® mounts was driven by the requirements of the project (project specification table), in particular the need to achieve a system natural frequency of 10 Hz in order to ensure effective vibration isolation in a theatre environment.
See below the natural frequency and static deflection results corresponding to the present case.
Graph showing the elastic properties, natural frequency and resulting static deflection.
Unlike full-surface resilient solutions, this system is installed at strategically defined points beneath the slab, rather than across the entire floor area. This approach limits the number of vibration transmission paths and makes the solution highly cost-effective, especially for large surface areas such as the Le Normandy theatre.
In addition, this solution provides an adequate free space beneath the floating slab to meet the project requirements, without generating an excessively large cavity. This is a key advantage, as it helps avoid unnecessary loss of floor-to-ceiling height and reduces execution time, particularly during the slab lifting and adjustment phase.
Alternative solutions based on steel spring isolators were evaluated but discarded due to their significantly higher cost, which was not justified by the performance requirements of this project.
As a result, the FZH-57-37 + Sylomer® system offered the best overall balance between acoustic performance, construction efficiency and economic competitiveness, making it the most suitable solution for the Le Normandy theatre renovation project.
To achieve this objective, FZH-57-37+Sylomer® acoustic mounts were selected to decouple the floating slab from the structural base. This solution provides reliable vibration isolation and contributes significantly to the overall acoustic performance of the venue.
The installation of the acoustic solution was carried out with the support of AMC MECANOCAUCHO®, whose technical team was involved from the design phase through to on-site execution.
Image: lay-out of the mounts, considering the 2D file of the total surface.
Image: Photo taken during the installation process of the FZH-57-37+Sylomer® floor mounts.
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AMC MECANOCAUCHO® provided technical assistance in the selection and implementation of the FZH-57-37+Sylomer mounts, ensuring full compliance with the acoustic specifications defined for this prestigious cultural venue.
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AMC MECANOCAUCHO® SUPPORT FOR INSTALLATION:
AMC-MECANOCAUCHO® trains your installation teams through an application engineer. This trainer explains the installation methodology and gives all the advice to increase productivity.
VIDEO OF THE FINAL RESULT.
The renovation has been featured in a video report broadcast on TF1, highlighting the significance and complexity of this landmark project.
Image: Total surface area of the slab on FZH-57-37+Sylomer® anti-vibration mounts.
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