Le Totem can host conferences, seminars, company evenings, film screenings, debates and shows for up to 127 seated guests in a fully equipped auditorium, with reception areas for welcome coffee, breaks, lunch and cocktails. The venue covers 700 square meters on two levels at 11 Place Nationale, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.
Seminars and company events
Booking the venue gives access to the auditorium and to its shared spaces: the entrance hall, the break and lunch areas, a cloakroom with hangers and two dressing rooms. The reception areas can be arranged to suit the program, from a welcome coffee to a standing cocktail after the last session.
An experienced general stage manager stays with the organizer throughout the event and adjusts the equipment as needed. A lighting technician manages the stage lighting. For hybrid formats, the venue's technical provider can add video capture and live streaming. Speakers connect a laptop on stage through an HDMI socket linked to the control room.
The furniture available with the auditorium includes a conference lectern with two gooseneck microphones, four conference armchairs, two sofas, two coffee tables, six height-adjustable round tables and twenty black chairs, enough to stage a panel discussion or a round table.
The venue is also used for film, short film and advertising shoots. An online availability calendar shows booked dates before you send a request.
Rooms and capacities
Auditorium: 127 seats, including 4 spaces for wheelchair users with lift access. The stage measures about 55 square meters.
Reception areas: entrance hall and spaces for coffee breaks, lunch and cocktails; capacities not published.
Backstage: two dressing rooms with mirrors and a cloakroom counter.
Equipment
The control room has video projection, sound and stage lighting. The projector hangs from the ceiling in the control room, and a 213 by 366 centimeter screen is built into the back wall of the stage and can be hidden behind a curtain. The sound system includes eight speakers spread through the audience, two front speakers and two subwoofers on the stage floor. Microphones include two wireless handheld microphones and one wired microphone in addition to the lectern microphones. Past users point to the comfortable seats and the acoustics of the room.
Catering
The venue provides spaces for coffee breaks, lunches and cocktails, but the official site does not describe a catering service or name a caterer. Ask the team how food and drinks are organized for your event.
History and setting
The building was designed by the architect Christian de Portzamparc, and its auditorium was entirely renovated in 2017. Le Totem is run by RIVP, a Paris property company, and belongs to a project for an Arts and Sciences hub supported by the City of Paris and the Île-de-France Region. Its program mixes professional, scientific and cultural events, such as ARTEX, a biennial meeting of arts and the science of complex systems held during the Fête de la Science, and concerts. New outdoor signage was installed in 2024 to guide visitors to the auditorium.
Getting there
Metro line 14 stops at Olympiades, 300 meters away, and metro line 6 stops at Nationale, 500 meters away. The auditorium entrance is on rue du Château des Rentiers, not on the square.
