à jauge variable

07:42 Apr 3, 2014 

I may be wrong, but I certainly didn't intend to be rude -- I simply have not seen that kind of modularity at venues.

16:35 Apr 2, 2014 

This is NOT bad writing. It's perfectly clear, and I even gave you a dictionary reference showing that "jauge" means "capacity". I think it's rude just to reject an answer because you "can't see how the idea would work". I went to a concert a couple of weeks ago, and part of the hall was blocked off because they hadn't sold enough tickets (a bit surprising, since it was Elton John).

11:21 Apr 2, 2014 

"I don't see, in practice, how an adjustable number of seats would work"

It is a fairly common practice that takes on many forms. Sometimes sliding "walls", sometimes as in your small space, audience seating that itself is on rollers. In Dijon, the large stage of the auditorium is even transformed into a theatre inside a theatre, with audience and small stage installed onstage.

11:02 Apr 2, 2014 

Well the idea behind is to be able to organise various events by changing the "seated area".... Like they did in Montreal (and many other places in the world)
The Olympia de Montreal opens its doors to host the finest concerts,

organized entirely according to your needs and desires.

The team at the Olympia will be happy to guide you throughout your project, ensuring a complete success.

The acoustic of the room is enhanced by a new Sennheiser sound system (technical rider)

that our technical team will be able to adjust to enhance the music of your artists.

The room, fully modular, allows you to install your audience according to your requirements :

General Admission (2438 places)
Full seats capacity (1302 places)
Comfortable seats capacity (1226 places)
Cabaret seats capacity (418 places on the floor, 352 on the balcony)

10:37 Apr 2, 2014 

Ok, I accept your point but I don't see, in practice, how an adjustable number of seats would work. But let's leave it at that, eh?

10:35 Apr 2, 2014 

Well David, I'm glad you agree with me. Oftentimes we have to work on a probability basis when no feedback from the end client is available, and the probability here is not sufficient to "take a punt" on the matter.

10:34 Apr 2, 2014 

Dear Conor, don't get me wrong but one has to accept that not being a native is always an issue no matter what we think we can understand in the "other(s) language(s). In the context the expression is absolutely clear. You can find in hundred places, and if you talk with people in this business (events management/organisation) they will ALL know what the meaning is.

-> La salle du Jeu-de-Paume est le seul endroit qui offre une bonne acoustique avec une jauge raisonnable (400 personnes maximum)
-> le taux de remplissage a déjà dépassé la jauge des 70 %
-> Cette année, la jauge a été montée à 25 000 spectateurs », précise Yann Geneste
-> On sait toutefois que le souhait des dirigeants du PSG est de faire passer la jauge du stade de 45 000 à 60 000 places
-> tarif à 6 € la place. Jauge limitée à 30 personnes,
-> Jauge variable selon aménagement de la salle.
(...)
A "jauge" is a gauge it's a measurement of the number of people you can get in the "place" and "une jauge variable" is telling this number can vary depending on the way the place is configured.
(and of course "gauge variable" is a misspelling + a coma is missing after "variable")

10:05 Apr 2, 2014 

In this context, jauge usually refers to the number of audience members that the hall can receive - it is not the only possible meaning, even if it seems the most likely. In my ear, "gauge variable d'une acoustique exceptionnelle" is a bit awkward logically speaking.

I would have preferred something like "offre un auditorium d'une acoustique exceptionnelle, de 280 places à jauge variable", which would seem more logically constructed to me.

One can always assume that things say what they are likely to say, but it is not always the case.

If the word gauge is indeed misspelt in the original, it is not a good sign.

09:47 Apr 2, 2014 

For a non-native, it's not very very transparent, and I've been speaking and reading French for 25 years. For starters, what is "à jauge variable"? That is not clear. The size of the seats, as someone suggested? We'll agree to disagree.

09:42 Apr 2, 2014 

I disagree this is certainly not "poor and vague writing" it's typical of the sort of description one can expect for this kind of place. Good french, very clear and totally unambiguious. Phil's translation is ok, I am not a native so I can't tell if it's the best however it is very clear and conveys the proper information.

08:55 Apr 2, 2014 

I'm afraid that this is simply a case of poor and vague writing, so I just put "adjustable" in the end, although "modular" would have done the trick too I think. Thanks to all anyway.

07:33 Mar 29, 2014 

jauge variable is all about the number of people that dyou can get inside the auditorium. Clearly it is a configuration issue where you can adjust the number of seats to the planned audience... This could depend purely on the number and size of seats, but also on the "volume" of the band as a symphonic orchestra will need more space than a singer reducing "de facto" the size of the public...

13:29 Mar 28, 2014 

True that, missed that ambiguous part..

13:25 Mar 28, 2014 

It's not clear to me that what is variable is the audience seating or the stage space. Many concert halls today - for reasons of acoustics - have a modular acoustic stage space. This is more true of larger halls than this, but the ambiguity remains for me.