After many years of study and thought, the audacious project presented by Didier Repellin, chief architect for historic monuments, was, in the end, accepted. In charge of restoration work on the Villa Médicis in Rome and the Popes´ Palace in Avignon, he worked closely with the AREP agency and the Eiffel company, having collaborated on the renovation of the Grand Palais, and proposed a contemporary structure of glass and steel.

Thus, the immense, over 1000 m² glass roof of the Roman Theatre in Orange is made up of metallic structures on which the glass plates lean. This roof weighs only 200 tons, or 50% less than a construction in wood. To preserve the monument, it does not sit on the Antique stones, but on a gigantic, 61.70 meter cross beam, supported by the side buildings reinforced by injections of lime into the stone.

This project perfectly preserves the unique and extraordinary acoustics of the Roman Theatre in Orange. The roof has been installed at a height of 32 meters, while the human voice rises to only 25 metres and singing to 27. On top of that, an acoustic membrane has been put under the stage´s new cover and acts as a louvre. In integrating the current safety standards, the construction also serves as a support for the lighting and curtain, which, hidden by a thin, metal meshing, fit discretely in to the décor. This stage roof was conceived in a manner to distort neither the landscape nor the monument. The roof is not higher than the northern wall and is not visible from surrounding angles.