In 1978, the municipality of Metz decided to build a concert hall, and the site chosen was the
citadel, occupied by the ancient Arsenal
Ney. Built beginning in 1859 under
Napoleon III, the Arsenal Ney was a store for weapons and ammunition. It remained in use until the end of
World War II. The realization of the concert hall was the subject of an international competition, started in 1983. In 1985, the project was awarded to the architect
Ricardo Bofill. Work began in May 1987 and the inauguration took place in February 1989 with a performance by Russian cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich, who stated that the venue was "an instrument of music on its own." The arsenal was originally arranged as a quadrangle. The design by
Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura removed one of its wings, opening a vast terrace in the rear which created a meeting area, available also to two other ancient buildings, Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains and the chapel of the
Knights Templar. To preserve the regular lines of the Arsenal, most of the volume of the concert hall lies beneath the terrace created within the wings of the building. Windows open in a classic frame in
Jaumont's stone surmounted by a
Roman arch decorated with a stone key. Facades are faced with an Italian honey-colour stone, joints are in brass, and roofs are in lacquered bronze-like metal. The warm colors of the interior decoration with classic pilasters of
beech and
sycamore were chosen to evoke the use of marquetry in furniture and ancient musical instruments. For the tenth anniversary of the Arsenal's inauguration, the terrace was adorned with a sculpture,
La Sentinaile, the work of
Antoine Poncet. ==Size and acoustic==