Ksavie Fabre French architect and restorer. Country: France

1. Xavier Fabre - French Architect and Restorer
2. Projects in France
3. Restoration of the Mariinsky Theatre
4. Mariinka-1 and Mariinka-3
5. Future Projects

Xavier Fabre - French Architect and Restorer

Xavier Fabre is a renowned French architect and restorer, specializing in theater halls. He is also a co-founder of the architectural firm Xavier Fabre, Vincent Speller, Philippe Pumain. Additionally, Fabre is a professor at the Paris School of Architecture.

Projects in France

In France, Fabre and his firm are best known for their accomplished projects such as the Center for Contemporary Art in Vassivière, the Short Film Center in Clermont-Ferrand, and the Ursulines Theater in Château-Gontier. He has also contributed to the restoration of theaters such as Châtelet and Odéon, as well as the Palais Garnier concert hall, all located in Paris.

Restoration of the Mariinsky Theatre

In 2003, Fabre's firm, along with French design companies Scena and Setec Batiment, won a tender announced by the Russian government for the restoration of the historical building of the Mariinsky Theatre. The work was expected to begin in 2005-2006 but was later rescheduled for January 2007. By this time, the troupe was supposed to vacate the premises and relocate to temporary venues. However, in September 2006, the Ministry of Culture decided not to close the main stage until the troupe moved to the new building, known as Mariinka-2, which had not even begun construction at that time. In December of the same year, Fabre's contract was suspended.

Mariinka-1 and Mariinka-3

Mariinka-1, the main building of the theater, was not the only project on which Fabre's firm worked. After the theater's workshops burned down in 2004, Valery Gergiev, the director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, made efforts to raise funds to transform the building into a new concert hall, known as Mariinka-3. Fabre was enlisted to design the interior of the hall. The project was successfully completed in 15 months with a budget of 20 million dollars, and on November 29, 2006, the hall opened to the public. Despite numerous deviations from the original design, Fabre was generally satisfied with the results of his work on Mariinka-3, while remaining perplexed about Mariinka-1. He believed that if the troupe's relocation was delayed by three years, a thorough assessment of the building, which posed serious concerns, would have to be conducted again.

Future Projects

In November 2006, Fabre's firm began negotiations for a contract to restore the Tverskoy Drama Theater. In January 2007, the architect was presented with an offer to continue his work in Russia, indicating his ongoing involvement in the field of architecture and restoration.