MSc 1 CP Paris Les grands projets

les grands projets paris, france seminar book complex projects msc1 landmarks seminar AR1CP040 spring 2019 tu delft

les grands projets paris, france seminar book complex projects msc1 landmarks seminar AR1CP040 spring 2019 tu delft

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Students: Alexander Galego, Arnaud De Sutter, Brydie Singleton, Carlin Lion, Elena Ghiacci, Felipe Suzuki Ursini, George Lau, Jeppe Lorentsen, Karolina Tatar, Kylee Cangas, Loes Bekkers, Max Michl, Michael Tsang, Verena Kretschmer & Zuzana Jurova Editor-in-Chief: M. Triggianese Editor: I. Omumbwa Publisher: Chair of Complex Projects, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environement, Delft University of Technology, 2019.

MusÊe d’Orsay, Paris, FR. Picture by Manuela Triggianese

complex projects msc1 landmarks seminar AR1CP040 spring 2019 tu delft CP

Les Grands Projets . Impressum

Les Grands Projets . Impressum

Seminar Leaders: A. Arcangeli & M. Triggianese Chair Coordinator: M. Triggianese Teaching Assitant: I. Omumbwa

les grands projets paris, france seminar book

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Chair Professor: Kees Kaan Chair of Complex Projects

Anatomy Seminar Les Grands Projets The Anatomy Seminar expands the theoretical discourse supporting the studio. Basic assumption of the course is that the historic European city has been, until the XXI century, a collection of landmarks. Iconic architectures that stand out – physically and symbolically – from their near environments.

their roles and the effects they had and have on Paris, especially in regard to the Grand Paris Express project, being this the nowadays major step to achieve that same status of modernity.

To comprehend their roles and relevance, we must therefore consider the actors involved, the connecting lines, the influence and meanings carried by the iconic buildings.As anchor points of an urban fabric in constant expansion and adaptation, the Landmarks not only stand for specific areas of the city, but somehow catalyse all the changes within their areas of influence.

The Louvre Pyramid, the Musee d’ Orsay, the Parc de la Villette, the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Opera Bastille, the Grand Arche de la Défense, the Ministry of France and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Breakdown of the analysed projects into three key notions. These notions, chosen by students, filter the analyses of the projects through set perspectives and set terms.

Les Grands Projets . Introduction

In Spring 2019, the course aims to compare the approach to the city of Paris in the end of the XX century with the contemporary urban discourse on the French capital.More specifically, intent of the course is the research and analysis of Francois Mitterrand’s Grands Projets in Paris. These projects were born as landmarks par excellence and seen as necessary, for Paris to achieve a status of modernity. Once the landmarks are studied, analysed and ‘dissected’, students are asked to reflect upon their design intents,

Lexicon:

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Les Grands Projets . Introduction

In order to fully grasp the nature of the XXI century European urban mutations, students are thus challenged with the task to analyse the Landmarks in all their aspects through an ‘anatomical dissection’.

By turning them inside out, we will extrapolate the symbols, styles and meanings embodied by the buildings and project to their surroundings.

The selected buildings to be analysed are:

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pyramides du louvre institut du monde arabe bibliothèque nationale de france I bibliothèque nationale de france II parc de la villette grande arche de la defense musée d’orsay

Les Grands Projets . Contents

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Les Grands Projets . Contents

lexicon

les grands projets pyramides du louvre i.m. pei (1989)

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Brydie Singleton Loes Bekkers

From Palace to Museum

The Louvre Pyramids were designed

by Pritzker Prize winning Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei.

addition was not well received and sparked initial hatred from the French general public.

The Pyramids were commissioned by the President of France, François Mitterrand, in 1984 as a part of the The Grands Projets; an architectural program to provide modern monuments in Paris. This was to symbolize France’s role in art, politics, and economy at the end of the 20th century. The construction was completed and opened to the public in 1989, which symbolically was the bicentenary year of the French Revolution.1

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

The Louvre was built in the 13th century, originally used as a fortress. In the 16th century it was renovated in French Renaissance style and converted into a palace residence for French kings. Up to 1983 the Ministry of Finance occupied half of the Louvre. Today it is the world’s largest art museum and a historic monument in its own right.4 The pyramids are constructed of glass and steel and sit in juxtaposition to the stone constructed Louvre Museum.

With the pyramid, the Louvre Museum took on a new dimension, becoming a national and international reference. However the modern

1 Souza, 2010 2 Boehm & Pei, 2000 3 Architectuul, 2019 4 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008

Situation Map 1 : 2000

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Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

It took 13 years to finish the Louvre project, from beginning to end.2 The square based monument stands 21.6m tall, with its sides stretching 34m to create a pyramid with a total surface area of 1,000m2; the exact same proportions as the Great Pyramid of Giza. The largest pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum, surrounded by three smaller pyramids.3

Position in the City

Issues with the Louvre

The site of the Louvre is historically rich. Mitterrand has been quoted saying that it is “precisely the heart of french history”.

It is where the king first signaled unity of the country, and it is near the site of the former Tuileries Palace.15Geographically, it is located in nearly the exact centre of Paris.

However in 1983 the Louvre was a barrier in the city. The Cour Napoleon was unsafe to use, especially at night as it was covered in bushes and trees. Pei proposed to change the Cour Napoleon from a barrier to a point of attraction. This would move the ministry of finance out of the Louvre to make it one big museum.6

Before accepting the commission, I.M. Pei went three times to the Louvre in secret to feel and find the problems of the current building himself. One of his findings was, that the Louvre at the moment was totally unworkable. It had a lot of exhibition space, but no infrastructure, no space for mechanical equipment, storage for paintings and other art objects. Museum people called the Louvre, “a theatre without a backstage”.

It had a confusing layout and vast galleries.

According to Parisians, the most frequently asked question about the Louvre was, “where is the front door?”8

5 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008 6 Boehm & Pei, 2000 7 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008 8 Boehm & Pei, 2000

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

“L’Esprit du Louvre” As Pei understood this statement, part of the spirit of the Louvre was the spirit of change. The Louvre had already undergone so many alterations and reincarnations over the centuries, and so the next chapter of the Louvre was inevitable.7

Palais/Musée du Louvre Cour Napoléon

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Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

Culture expressed in Architecture remains inseparable from French national pride.

Concurrently, monuments undoubtably embody the power of the state. So just as Louis XIV created his Versailles, Mitterrand created his Louvre. To this point, Mitterrand received public condemnation as a socialist president acting like a prince.

Controversial Public Reaction

Parisians had long been opposed to the incursion of modern architecture in their city. Montparnasse Tower had just gone up some years before, and “loomed” as a warning to what modern architecture could do to the Paris skyline.

During a presentation to the Commission Superieure des Monuments Historiques, Pei and his team received verbal assult so badly that the translator began to cry. They called the scheme a “gigantic gadget” and said it was “beyond their comprehension”. Le Mond published an article headlining “The House of the Dead”.

Following this, criticisms for Pei began to calm down.

The French opinion of the Louvre ressembled very similarly that of the one a century before with the Tour Eiffel in 1887. It was initially hated by the public as a “pile of iron junk” and as something which would “crush the pristine beauty of Paris with its barbaric factory weight”. Today, the Eiffel Tower is the well loved jewel in the Paris skyline.11

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

Madame Claude Pompidou, the widow of the former president, who was arguably the most powerful woman in France at the time and the unofficial cultural ambassador endorsed her confidence in Pei and his design.10 During the backlash, the Mayor of Paris at the time, Jaques Chirac, asked Pei to erect a full-sized cable model of the Louvre. This act demonstrated to the French public the size of the structure, proving to them it was indeed not as large and imposing as they had feared.

9 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008 10 Boehm & Pei, 2000 11 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008

Pyramide Mock-Up I.M. Pei

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Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

Criticisms of the glass pyramids included inconsistency with the classical style of the Louvre Museum, the symbolic references of pyramids and death, the pyramid being pretentious and megalomaniac and I.M. Pei being insufficiently French to be entrusted with the task of updating the treasured Parisian landmark. Many still continue to feel the harsh modernism of the edifice is out of place, while others have embraced it.9

Landmark

Paris is the city of Landmarks. Over time, more and more landmarks have been added, resulting in an urban fabric laiden with monuments, a patchwork of monuments. Each one pinpoints a specific moment in time, and represents a different social or political climate or event.12 Landmarks provide points of reference in mental spatial relations and positions us geographically in a city. Consisting of structure that are easily recognisable, they assist people to navigate their way through a city, as they establish connections to certain places.13

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

Among many things, the Louvre Pyramids symbolise modernity.

The epoch of the pyramids sat within an atmosphere of change, with Mitterand’s aspiration to advance Paris into the modern times through his Grand Projets. The architectural expression of glass and steel, which sits in contrasts to the traditional architecture of the Louvre palace, is a high profile symbol of modernism infiltrating Paris’ anatomy. It should be noted that modernism did not mean taking over. Pei deliberately designed the height of the Pyramid to be two thirds the height of the Louvre palace, as a respectful bow to the heritage and legacy of the palace.14 Additionally, the employment of an international architect symbolised the opening up of France’s mindset, modernising themselves to align with the rest of the world. Furthermore, as half of the Louvre was previously occupied by the French government, opening up the whole Louvre Palace for the museum symbolises the civic ideology of the ‘grand public’ and no longer a palace for the kings (government) of France.

Finally, being inextricably linked to it’s program, the Louvre is also a landmark for culture and art.

12 Hanser, 2006 13 Richter & Winter, 2014 14 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008

Landmarks of Paris

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Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

The Louvre Pyramid is arguably the most well known landmark in Paris. Geographically, it positions us right in the heart of Paris, locating us at the start of the Axe Historique near the Tuileries.

Although it is tucked away in Cour Napoleon, so not visible at all times, the Louvre Pyramids are a symbolic landmark. This is contrary to the Tour Eiffel, which is a physical landmark, which can be seen from nearly everywhere.

Starchitect

I.M Pei is an ‘icon’ in his own right. The fact that Mitterrand hand picked Pei was a strong political move that set the international tone of the Grand Louvre Project. The politics of the ‘starchitect’ revolve around the desire of a leader to show to the world that they are ‘world class’,15 and this is exactly what Mitterrand was striving for. The Grand Louvre Project was the only one of the Grand Projets that was commissioned; the others were carried out with competitions, which is in line with the French democratic legislation. Mitterrand’s decision to circumvent normal administrative processes was therefore an expression of power and denoted his drive to leave a cultural and physical stamp on the city.16

15 Hathcote, 2017 16 Collard, 2008 17 Mazzoleni, 2008

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

By acquiring the status and stature of Pei to the project, Mitterrand was building the Louvre’s brand. Pei’s avant-guard and ‘top talent’ status represented modernity, slotting neatly into the intentions of the Grand Projets to launch France into the 21st century. Pei had no particular French ties, but his celebrity status lent a degree of fame to the project, even before the project had been designed. The acquisition of Pei placed the project on an international pedestal laden with novelty and modernity. The statement wasn’t just the design. The statement was also who designed it. In this way, some could argue that the entrance to the Louvre would be as much as of icon if Pei had designed a glass cube or a glass sphere.

I.M. Pei the Icon Collage of speculative spherical dome in place of the Pyramide

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Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

Mitterrand wanted to contribute a contemporary and international icon to Paris, and he was able to achieve this with Pei. The Grand Louvre was Mitterrand’s most important project, it was his jewel in the middle of the city. The relationship between politics and starchitects is not a new one, and by adding Pei’s name to the project Mitterrand expanded his repertoire of celebrity associations and reinforced his international brand. French politicians possess a particular celebrity status within the media, and with fame being a culturally embedded french value, the desire to work with a starchitect is an unsurprising partnership.17

Reception

There were many intentions behind Mitterrand’s Grand Projets.

He believed that the promotion of French culture was intertwined with public architecture. Mitterrand wanted to bring Paris the ‘city of monuments’ into the 21st century by adding modern landmarks of different scales and functions, reinforcing Paris as the centre of art and culture. The scale of these projects can be compared to the major building schemes of Louis XIV.

18 Northcutt, 2011 19 Jodidio, Strong & Pei, 2008 20 “Record-breaking year”, 2019 21 Bohem & Pei, 2000 22 Fauvel, M, 1996

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

However the reception of the Louvre Pyramids did not happen without conflict.21 Generally speaking, French people can be highly traditional and as a result rejected the modernist proposal that would sit in the courtyard of the historic palace. Some of their aversion could be attributed to the fact that Pei was a foreign (st)architect. However, eventually over time the French reclaimed the Pyramids and accepted them as an integral part of their city. This initial rejection followed by gradual acceptance is not a new French phenomena, with the same pattern being visible in the integration of the Tour Eiffel in 1887.22 The objective of the Grand Louvre Project was patriotic in nature, as it was a self celebrating project that praised the already revered Louvre Palais, and elevated it’s international presence.

PYRAMID DE LA MORT

PYRAMID DE LA MORT

Reception of the Pyramide du Louvre then and now

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Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

The pursuit of the Grand Projets was also without doubt intended to project Mitterrand’s political power and prestige during his presidency.18 These projects were addressed to the Parisians, however the Grand Louvre Project spoke to a wider audience: an international audience. By commissioning Pei, the reception of the Grand Louvre Project grew bigger in scale and importance.

Furthermore, the design (of the entrance) was to accomodate 4 million visitors a year, an amount double that of the population of Pairs, leading us to believe the project was intended for international tourism as well as local Parisians.19 This is exactly what happened. Today, the Louvre pyramids are widely popular among tourists, and stands as one of the most popular things to visit in Paris. This is evident through the 10.2 million visitors that walk through the iconic entrance every year.20

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

Les Grands Projets . Pyramides du Louvre

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les grands projets institut du monde arabe jean nouvel (1981-87)

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Carlin Lion Alexander Galego

the first time the Franco-arabian tensions physically manifest themselves within the urban fabric of a seemingly peaceful Paris.

In response to these fragile Franco-Arabian relations, Valery first entertained the idea of an AWI and this was followed through by President Mitterand proceeded to announce the AWI as a vehicle for the peaceful joining of people and culture: “France is delighted at this new opportunity to show the world... that when one has the will one can succeed in joining peoples who have been brought close by history”5.

During WW1, France’s control of North Africa forced Muslims from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and the middle east to fight Germany, where 100,000 Muslim’s died. As a sign of gratitude for this sacrifice the Great Mosque of Paris was constructed in 1922.

Here we begin to see a pattern of architectural landmarks and buildings being used as symbols of apology and reconciliation3.

Founded in 1980, the Arab World Institute is a collection of 18 Arab countries who have come together to raise awareness around the Arab world and it’s cultural and spiritual values6. The institute was established as a result of a perceived lack of Arabian representation. Constructed between 198187 under President Francois Mitterrand the IMA stands out as the only Grand Projet to deal with international relations.

Tensions again arose during the FrancoAlgerian war 1954-62 which was intended as a decolonisation war to gain independence from France. The (Front Liberation Nationale) FLN called on Muslims in Algeria to join in a national struggle for the “restoration of the Algerian state – sovereign, democratic and social – within the framework of the principles of Islam”4. The oil crisis (1973) further fuelled tensions between France and Arabic countries where arab oil producing countries announced an embargo on oil deliveries on states supporting Israel.

French Prime Minister Pierre Messmer then announced a series of decisions to reduce energy consumption. This is an example of 1 Metz H.C., 1994 2 Pew Research Centre, 2009 3 Bolongaro, K., 2017 4 Pennell, C., 1954 5 Mittérand, F., 1980 6 IMA Board, 2016

Metrpolitan France & Colonies 1938

Paris Cyclist protesting oil crisis “Gasoline Please” 1973

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

In trying to understand the driving forces behind the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) and the Arab World Institute (AWI) it’s hard to overlook the violent colonial empire that France imposed upon north African Arabian countries. In 1830 France invaded Algeria and it immediately became a military colony. As compensation for this invasion, Muslims were allowed to apply for full French citizenship, but they had to renounce the right to be governed by Sharia law1. The effects of this now places France with the highest population of Muslims in the Western world2.

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Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Territorial Politics

Ownership and Repatriation

in Paris, but also in Dakar, in Lagos, in Cotonou”10 This statement to a lesser degree acknowledges the illegitimate ownership of these arabian artefacts, but primarily works to distance Macron from the colonial period as he wants to “break from the generations that came before”

Given this mounting pressure for European museums to return irreplaceable artefacts plundered during colonial times, a 2018 report initiated by Macron assesses the scope of this ownership and possible remedies.

Academics, Bénédicte Savoy of France and Felwine Sarr of Senegal who carried out this report concluded that “objects that were removed and sent to mainland France without the consent of their countries of origin be permanently returned”8. The report uncovers staggering figures such as “90 to 95 percent of Africa’s cultural heritage is held outside Africa by major museums”9.

At the centre of this debate is the Quai Branly Museum in Paris which owns 70,000 stolen artefacts - most of these are on loan to the IMA. At a recent press event, Macron goes on to say “Africa’s heritage must be showcased

7 Gouteyron, A., 2008 8 Savoy & Sarr, 2018 9 Ibid.

10 Nayeri, F., 2018

Benin’s President Patrice Talon and France’s President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Photo

by Etienne Laurent 2018

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Given this call for repatriation, it will have drastic effects on how the IMA will function as a vehicle for the returning of artefacts rather than being a receptacle of artefacts.

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Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Beneath these grand gestures of cultural repentance, there exists a fragile relationship which is still recovering from the French colonial invasion of Africa. Still to this day there remains illegitimate layers of ownership over the artefacts, where the building is owned by AWI but receives French owned arabian artefacts to be exhibited to the public.7 This complex network of ownership can be traced back to the simultaneous collecting and stealing of artefacts during French invasion. Perhaps it is this obstacle of ownership when it comes to acquiring new artefacts that have now created a permanent collection of poor quality digital images and projections. These 2-dimensional mediums over compensate for the lack of any tangible objects of value and often misrepresent the richness of arabian culture.

The Competition

The building is situated along the Seine River in the heart of the Latin quarters. It tentatively rests on the fringe between traditional Parisian urban fabric and the more relaxed contemporary area of the Universite de Jessieu. Previously, the ground held significant history, housing the SaintVictor abbey, the Saint-Bernard Holy Door, and various wine halls. The site context has partially informed the design, with a sweeping curve along the river side, and a rigid geometry on the University side.

The intention for a relaxed, unremarkable contemporary facade on the Seine arguably undermines this ‘main’ facade, instead lending the title to the inner courtyard facade.

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

The design was a collective endeavor by Jean Nouvel, Pierre Soria, Gilbert Lezènes and Architecture studio, along with Saudi Consulting architect Zyad Zaidan. The design aims to synthesise traditional Arabic architecture with modernised systems and materials. However, we must remain critical with such direct translations of historic symbols and archetypal elements as they could be subject to cultural appropriation.

floor 14. The majority of floor space, almost a third, is used by services and circulation spaces, which is reflected in the experience of many corridors. A significant portion of the cost, 3 million FF, is proudly evident in the 2000m2 southern facade which is a curtain of highly engineered motorised panels, opening and closing like camera apertures.

There are 240 moucharabiehs, half of which are operable. However, the facade deamnds considerable maintance and required a complete re-service within 30 years of the building’s construction.

The buildings boasts a high construction cost of 230 million French Francs (approximately 35 million euros) plus a ‘decoration’ cost of 120 million FF. The recorded cost per sqm. is approximately 11,000 FF 13. The total built-up area is 24,000m2, of which 13,000m2 is usable 11 Yucel & Hammad, Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), 1989 12 Ibid.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

Situation Map 1 : 2000

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Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

The project was originally conceived

by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1973, however it did not gain traction until a second competition was held under the direction of President Francois Mitterand.

The Institut du Monde Arabe was part of the larger Grand Project scheme initiated

by Francois Mitterand to improve urban development. Its intent was to cultivate better cultural relations between France and the Arab world, promoting awareness and cultural eduction, and to correct the Arabic image within France11. The building was also intended to encourage communication and cooperation within technical and scientific fields in particular. The goal was to create a new intermediate model which sat between to typological references, the Centre Pompidou and other French Cultural Centres abroad 12. The program included research and exhibition spaces, a library, and an auditorium to exercise cultural education.

Symbol (Icon)

Symbolism is used as a significant architectural design strategy for the Institut du Monde Arabe. Written publications often describe the presence of Arabic symbols in the building as a measure of its success, however we must remain critical of how these symbols are described; if they are appropriated or if they preserve their original symbolic integrity.

15 Insitut du Monde Arabe, 2019 16 Gottheil R.J.H., 1910 17 Nouvel, J., 1989 18 Insitut du Monde Arabe, 2019

IMA, Internal Facade

Arabic Mashrabiya

IMA, Library Tower

Minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Another prominent symbolic feature of the IMA is the use of filtered light. The architects’ elaborate geometric facade attempts to emulate the dappled effect of a traditional Arabic archetypal element, the Mashrabiya17. The intent was to protect the occupants from the sun and control privacy with a responsive, temporally sensitive system. These lattice designs, which have been used for centuries in Arabic architecture, have now been modernised and mechanised by the architectural team for the IMA. There are also more loose references to other architectural symbols, with the hypostyle colonnades inspired by the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Luxor Temple in Egypt 18, or the interior patio which is reminiscent of Mediterranean architecture.

What happens then, when a building becomes an amalgamation of different interpretations of cultures and symbols which have all become decontexualised?

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Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

The book tower connects all levels of the library through a spiralling cylindrical form. The tower acts as a reference to the minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra15. There are multiple symbolic attributes shared between these designs, primarily the twisting shell like structure of the forms. The spiralling ramp, by nature, forces perambulation; an ode to the meditated experience of climbing a Mosque tower. The slower climb of the ramp is highlighted by the contrast with the efficient and modern circulation of the lift core on the other side of the building. There is also a shared symbolism in the towering height of the forms. A minaret holds many functions, including being a symbol of Islam, providing a visual identity for a Mosque, and being used to perform the ‘call to prayer’16. Therefore height is a crucial factor which is maintained in the book tower at IMA; it would not hold as much architectural significance nor symbolic gesture if it was a short ramp.

Translation (Iconography)

19 Stein, A., 2015 20 Abdelkader R., 2017

This calls into question an architect’s right or claim to improve, advance or contemporise traditional architecture. By modernising this system, using contemporary metallic materials, can we still call this Mashrabiya?

If not, do we understand it solely as a superficial aesthetic reference?

The ‘Minaret’ book tower is equally perplexing as it references a heavily and sacredly religious symbol of Islam, which is entirely decontextualised by using the form for an irrelevant and non-religious function.

It is clear that the mentioned examples are all apathetic, dispassionate treatments and translations of tradition, therefore the symbolic integrity and value of the original elements have been undeniably lost.

Despite what the brief stipulates, we must call the building what it truly is, a Western Attraction. It is evident that there was no genuine plight to bridge cultural relations, and like any attraction, there was no real purpose for this building than to design an expensive and impressive landmark.

Scales of the Mashrabiya Facade IMA 2019

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

The problematic use of the Mashrabiya goes beyond its placement on the building. By taking it away from its climate and traditional use for residential screening, it is reduced to a stolen iconic pattern. Here the screen, which typically operates on a single window or residential scale20, is inappropriately stretched to accommodate the scale of a commercial research/museum institution. As a result the use of this element is unsuitable for the chosen environment, and is merely an archetypal icon which has been naively forced for the aesthetic of the building. On our personal visit, the internal climate of the building (hot on a wintery day) proves the failure of the aperture system, denying the single intended purpose of shading. The dappled light effect, while beautiful during

moments throughout the building, is also largely distracting as it streaks shadows and light spots across the open plan office desks.

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Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

With the use of any foreign or cultural iconography, there is risk of mis-translation or altered integrity. Anything referenced or reproduced inherently holds the opinion and interpretation of the new hand. The IMA uses displaced architectural symbols and traditions, with have been altered with architectural and artistic license by Nouvel.

However, the building is “an instance where Nouvel’s vision for a building’s features got muddled in implementation”19. The problem is not in using a foreign typology, but that there was no natural progression or translation between the taken symbol and its integration. There was a very sudden insertion of richly historic archetypal elements of Arabic architecture, into a ‘modernised’ representation in a Western context. As a result many richly historic architectural elements have become decontexualised and have lost their original symbolic meaning.

Reception (Rejection)

In 2008, the board of directors of the Arab World Institute (AWI) closed the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) and called for an investigation into the future direction of the museum titled “rescue of IMA”. What sparked this inquiry was dwindling public attendance as the project remained in deficit for 10 years longer than anticipated21. This public rejection is symptomatic of an underlying tension between financial investment into the container and not in the content.

IMA Public Library, Students, Artists and Researchers

21 Gouteyron, A., 2008 22 Tripadvisor, Reviews 23 Gouteyron, A., 2008 24 Ibid.

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Only 30 years after its completion, over half of the facade needed to be replaced forcing AWI to invest in the “attraction” of its indulgent facade. But what the board failed to recognise before 2008 is the building is merely a vehicle of reception and not an artefact in its own right. Since the the project broke even in 2008 the AWI investigation report suggested IMA change direction to focus on youth and education as the primary audience of reception24 and to procure interactive exhibitions rather than intangible digital translations of arabian culture.

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Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Recurring public criticism lies in the functional and spatial arrangement of the building where the building’s obsession with translating arabian iconography limits rather than expands curatorial and research possibilities22. The 2008 investigation clearly identifies the functional issues around circularity of exhibition spaces, unclear entry points and how the closed off nature of the building doesn’t create an inclusive environment.

This closed off and austere nature of the southern facade further disassociates the building from this idea of “reception”.

Therefore the importance of the forecourt heightened as it becomes the main civic reception. Reports and online reviews revealed that exhibitions which utilised this forecourt garnered greater public attendance23.

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

Les Grands Projets . Institut du Monde Arabe

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les grands projets bibliothèque nationale de france I dominique perrault (1989-95)

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Max Michl Jeppe Lorentsen

Abstract

Glossary

The Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Mitterand’s last ‘Grands Projets’, can be seen as his gem and the physical embodiment of him as a person. Nowadays widely called François Mitterrand library, it shows his influence on the project. To understand the impact politics and personal ideals had on the building, it makes sense to look at it within different dimensions and scales. Within ‘Deception’, a look at the political drivers and ideals should give insights on its conception; while ‘Integrity’ focus on its usage as well as operation and see where the political agenda behind it created shortcomings in its success as a building. Lastly ‘Absorption’ looks at its success as a landmark and monument within its immediate neighbourhood and the context of Paris. Combining these three layers will help in understanding how ideals can affect the conception of major projects.

Deception The act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid Integrity The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change Absorption

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

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The process of absorbing something or of being absorbed

Biblothèque Nationale de France

1 Perrault, D., & Jacques M., 1995 2 Migayrou, F., 2018

The project was intended to be the catalyst of the urban regeneration of the industrial 12th and 13th district as well as to unify Paris’ fragmented fabric of research libraries. The initial intention of the building was to manifest itself as an icon for the grand scheme of Paris, but today the building operates as a landmark within its close proximity, performing well neither as a library nor as a beacon. Hence, there is the question if Mitterrand in the end just forced a political and personal agenda into a project not fitting with its intended typology.

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

BnF is part of the Grands Projets of François Mitterrand, which was an architectural program to provide new modern monuments in Paris, symbolizing France’s important role in art, politics, and economy at the end of the 20th century. The need of further storage space for the existing book collection gave Mitterrand the chance for another one of his ‘icons’. An international conception invitation was held which 244 architects answered. Afterwards, a competition brief which was split into two parts was given to 20 architects; the first part outlined its needs for a modern and encompassing library fitting for the shift into the digital age while the second half asked for the catalyst of major urban regeneration, already

showing the intricate relationship between typological program and its use as a landmark.2 Further hints of this are found within the jury, mainly consisting of renowned architects and excluding relevant researchers. After initial screenings, Mitterrand himself chose Perrault’s concept among other finalists.

The Void and the Mass Showing the unusual omnipresence of void that characterises the BnF

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Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

The architect chosen for the project was the young French architect Dominique Perrault. The architectural concept consists of four large L-shaped glass towers defining an open plaza space. The Library occupies a site of 9 hectares and the total floor area is 290,000 m2 distributed on floors below and above ground level. With a construction cost of 1.2 billion euros the building went over its initial budget of 254 million euros.

Built from 1988 to 1995, it was target to heaps of public criticism and concerns due to its size and program. Especially researchers and librarians questioned the book storage within glass towers.1

Ideals & Approach

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

The site is situated within the quieter residential and business orientated 13th arrondissement in south-east Paris. Within the immediate neighbourhood it fulfils the function as a social and cultural hub as well as public space while in the scale of Paris it works together with the other void and public spaces along the Seine to create a focal point towards it. While an initial negative reaction to the ‘Grands Projets’ viewed it as a continuation of the traditional east/west shift in the power structure; it was rather the state’s desire to make Paris more significant internationally and the dire need for a rebalancing of east, thereby expanding the centre that lead to construction in the formerly brownfield near the Austerlitz railway station.3

intended qualities of Perrault’s design, being an open and public accessible library. Part of this can be traced back to the concerns of various researchers leading to the need of a split program, clearly separating the public from the research. Furthermore, as the book storage inside the glass towers led to much voiced disapproval, wooden panels were introduced as a second interior skin against the sunlight just to preserve the symbolism associated with the four large glass towers.

This duality of programs and split of storage within towers clearly impacted its operational efficiency as the BnF has about 33% more staff while only having about ¼ of the amount of books the British library has.4 Leaving the question if its conception as a monument completely overshadowed its functionality as a library.

Approaching the building, the architectural feeling greatly varies from the

3 Migayrou, F., 2018 4 British Library 5th Annual Report and Accounts, 2017 & BnF Activities Report 2017

Situation Map 1 : 5000

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In order to understand the ideals behind the building and how it affected the final outcome it is interesting to look at the process of the design and why a library typology was chosen. Analysing Mitterrand’s involvement in the project and the intended focus of the competition brief should shed light on the way the project goal was conceived. An investigation of the architectural and programmatic execution will help illustrate where forced on ideals resulted into failures of everyday use and comfort. Lastly, there will be a reflection on the impact of its monumentality, in the scale of its district as well as the whole of Paris, to understand under which circumstances the building evolved and how it is perceived in its urban role.

Deception

“Form follows Function”, a truly iconic phrase coining the ideals envisioned for modernist architecture. In this regard the BnF is more like an empty shell wearing the aesthetics of modernism than a true representation of it. Mitterrand’s ambition of overseeing the opening of the BnF left an undeniable influence, as close initial studies between architects, engineers and librarians were ignored in favour of rushing to the architectural competition.5 This clear lack of programmatic plans at the start let to the need for post-fitting them, resulting in its disjoint between form and function. To the later criticism about this reverse designing of its functionality and corresponding worries, the architect himself responded with: “The fundamental principle of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is to be an urban development.”6

Layers As you walk through the building you experience the different levels of openness; from the public (left), to the semi-public (centre), and the closed (right)

5 Davies, Sylvie & Johnson, 1998 6 Ibid., p. 21 7 Ibid., p. 21 8 Davies, Sylvie & Johnson, 1998

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

This now leaves the question as to why it even needed to be a library in the first place, seeing as it did not mesh well with the core concepts his ambition and its focus on aesthetics and urban significance. It is true that there was the need to increase the capacities of the existing BN, however, initial plans saw a more modest reorganisation and extension as the solution.7 Mitterrand, in an effort to further cement his legacy in history and the urban context of Paris, took this as the catalyst for the last of his ‘Grands Projets’. Nonetheless, the various functional changes during its inception, due to unclear initial strategies or political shifts and changing ideals further hampered its operational qualities and created the need for an abundance of future interventions and changes to ensure its success.8

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Further highlighting its real focus of rather being a beautiful monument for Paris and Mitterrand himself than a functioning library.

Integrity

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

After a petition signed by 700 concerned academic figures it was decided to install wood panels behind the glass, destroying that transparency that gave the towers their justification as a showcase for the French heritage. Furthermore those panels took up space that was dedicated to book stacking, forcing the architect to reorganize the building by replacing public functions on the underground levels with book storage. This results in amplifying BnF’s comparatively atypical distribution of space and library functions, with the closed sunken garden being the core of the building, rather than the books or research facilities11, impacting the relations between user and media as well as researchers and artefacts.

During the construction of the building Ministère de la Culture decided that ‘Bibliothèque Nationale and the Bibliothèque de France’ should merge into a single institution.

The BNF was established in 1994 increasing the floor area from 100,000 to 292,000 m2, resulting in a yearly operational cost of 1.2 billion Francs which equals around 10% of the yearly allocated money for Ministère de la Culture. So while Perrault argues that “architecture should not be sullied by petty quarrels”12, it would in the case of BnF be important to stress how a holistic design and planning approach could have made the objective of linking form and function desirable.

9 Perrault, D. & Jacques, M., 1995 10 Davies, Sylvie & Johnson, 1998 11 Vilder, A., 1993 12 Perrault, D. & Jacques, M., 1995

Building or Medium? Library or Momument?

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Perrault states that the BnF has “risen from the fields of utopia”.9 This statement seems to prove its accurateness when inspecting the outcome of Mitterrand’s ideals, as the utopian intentions behind the building are not accomplished. The failure of the BnF as an operational building is revealed in its treatment of the distribution between public and closed spaces, where Mitterrand’s visceral ambition for the accessible library has been abolished due to the absence of a clear planning process.

A prominent feature of the initial design was the distribution of research and public facilities below ground, while storing precious artefacts in glass towers where they were exposed to the damaging sun, heat and moisture.10

Absorption

Often referred to as rather a place and not a building by Dominic Perrault,13 the BnF is rather unique compared to most of the other ‘Grands Projets’ as it did not need to anchor itself in its context but rather became an anchor itself. This was due to Mitterrand’s idea of using it as a stimulant for the urban renewal of its surrounding neighbourhood, leaving little of the former urban fabric untouched.14 It nowadays acts as a connection node between the various height levels around it as well as the focal public space in its proximity, overall helping in keeping the tissue of the neighbourhood tied together. Achieving the duties it was envisioned to do, you could almost call it successful.

13 Perrault, D. & Jacques, M., 1995 14 Migayrou, 2018 15 Ibid., pg. 130

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

If you now compare it to Koolhaas’ entry to the initial competition “[…] propos[ing] a grand edifice: a Très Grande Bibliothèque, whose design denied the very possibility of an exteriority in order to ‘pre-empt’ the city, to swallow it […]”15 it leaves to wonder why Perrault’s design for the monumental BnF was chosen, as the empty spaces along the river are absorbing the BnF and its function as a landmark. Along with its relevance in the district only emanating from everything being planned with the library as a focus. Therefore, performing neither as a monument nor a library.

Reversal The peculiar relation between people and books, sheltered or exposed

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Nonetheless, its prominence fades as soon as you start looking at its significance within the context of Paris. Through its linkage with the other void spaces along the Seine it naturally anchors itself within Paris urban context, however, it is now important to consider if this continuance and conformance was in the end detrimental in BnF’s strive to become a beacon. Rather than standing out through its unique position and context like the Grande Arche or symbolism of the Louvre Pyramid, the approach for the BnF seems more tame and orthodox, even though its ideals and concept behind it did not pale in comparison.

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France I

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les grands projets bibliothèque nationale de france II dominique perrault (1989-95)

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Elena Ghiacci Verena Kretschmer

Abstract

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Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

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At the end of the 1980s, France needed a new library to host the large book collection gathered since the 14th century.

The french President François Mitterrand called for a competition for the building which would close the season of his “Grand Travaux”. The library would, alongside with the Arab World Institute, Parc de la Villette and the Louvre Pyramides, create a new set of modern monuments for Paris - the city defined by its architecture. For the competition hosted in 1989, 244 Architects from all around the world applied. A specific committee composed of various professionals selected twenty projects from which four of them were presented to Francois Mitterand to make the final decision. He chose the formal and simple design of Dominique Perrault.

Introduction

With this letter to the prime minister Michel Rocard in July 1989, François Mitterrand expressed his motivation to build the new library as the closing element of his Grand Projets. The Bibliothèque assumed in fact to play three different roles: an icon of the french great cultural heritage in the european context, a spark for the urban development of Paris and Mitterand’s signature on the history of the country.

As it had been the previous President’s G. Pompidou will to raise the role of France into one of the world’s great economic power, so was it Mitterrand’s 1 Rocard, M., 1989, Bibliotèque de France.

2 Perrault, D., Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 1995.

3 Paris, “The Grands Projets”.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

Due to the elevated podium the district behind can not be seen from the Seine thus the BnF works as a mediator between the human scale and the high rise tower behind.

Moreover the pedestrian bridge Passerelle de Simone de Beauvoir, as part of the concept, connects the left and the right bank of the river. In this way the two districts the 13th and 14th arrondissement are connected and an access is created from the library to the Parc de Bercy.

“The Library opens up to the public”

Inauguration with Jacques Toubon, Jack Lang, Dominic Perrault, François Mitterrand, Jean Favier.

30th of March 1995

Industrial waste land on the banks of the Seine 1987

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

“Books and written heritage are the heart of our civilisation. I desire since 1981 that a big effort is put to permit to our country to overhaul its delay and gain its original rank in Europe.” 1

idea to renovate the image of the country as founded on its culture.

The project of the BnF was built as an icon to represent France’s believe in its great heritage.2 The boldness of the design and the speed of the construction underline the symbolic character this project had to Mitterrand.The President, who was a strong promoter of culture, wanted to see the project being finished before he would leave.

During his mandate, Mitterrand started developing peripheral areas of Paris, and therefore, each one got a prominently located landmark to create a sense of identity through its own spectacular building.3

The construction of the library was representing the starting point for a complete renovation of the 13th arrondissement which was so far industrial waste land on the banks of the Seine. Until that moment the Ministry of Finance in Bercy was imposing itself as a strong and resolute mark in the urban fabric: with its massiveness and clear geometry it was delimiting the central area of Paris, beyond which the banlieues were starting.

Because of that the need of expansion of the parisian facade along the river towards the south-east was prominent.

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The Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF) was designed by the french architect Dominique Perrault and built between 1989 and 1995. It was inaugurated on the 15th December 1996 after the major collections of books were moved from the old Bibliothèque Nationale in the Rue de Richelieu which was not longer able to increase its capability.

The library hosts around 12 million volumes and is thus one of the largest and extensive public and research poles in the world on an area of 365.173 square meters. The design of Perrault won many international awards including the Mies van der Rohe prize in 1996. Nonetheless the public reactions were ambivalent not only because of the high building costs of 254 million Euros, but also for the not human scale of the project.

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François Mitterrand was the first left wing politician in the 5th republic of France. His series of Grand Projets was an architectural program to provide modern monuments to Paris, symbolising France’s role in art, politics and economy: for him architecture was the medium to reaffirm french greatness6, he planned to restore frances reputation in the world through it. The Grand Projets are all monumental in scope and public in purpose.7 Even if not all of the eight projects started under Mitterrand’s leading, they are very close related to him, as they changed drastically in form when he took them over.8 Rather than manipulating the order of the city to emphasize existing monuments, Mitterrand’s projects strategically deployed provocative technological imagery in new public buildings and spaces.9

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Goldbergermay, P., 1987.

Architecture once again seems to be the tool of expressing his political will. Some of the Projects were built as Landmarks in the city centre (Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre Pyramide) others were meant to strengthen the city edges. His desire was that the projects would be broad in their appeal, establish stronger connections between the city and its surroundings12, and serve as a vehicle for stimulating marginal neighborhoods.

This goal is clearly the justification in Mitterrand’s view for such imperial building by a Socialist.

François Mitterrand in company of the BnF’s architect, Dominique Perrault and his “monsieur grands travaux”, Emile Biasini 1993

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

François Mitterand

Built between 1981 and 1998, the Grands Projets were constructed of similar materials, in less than two decades, within an urban landscape, and displaying related ideologies.10 Several of the monuments would display transparency, reflection, and abstraction. Mitterrand sees his ambition of civic buildings not only as a way of revitalizing Paris but as proof, that there can be such a thing as contemporary monumentality which is compatible with Socialist politics.11

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The Bibliothèque Nationale is a political icon. It relates to Mitterrand’s politics mirroring his personality as his private obsession for la transparence 4 which finds its concreteness in the use of glass in architecture. The Louvre Pyramid and the BnF are statements of transparency at a monumental public scale. He was defending all the critiques of hosting french historical heritage in glass towers, and arguing for the material as cultural symbolism. It resembles accessibility of knowledge to all.5

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The “Grand Projets” by François Mitterrand 1981-1998

“The large empty spaces” adjoining the river Seine - Paris January 1995

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

䈀䤀䈀䰀䤀伀吀䠀䔀儀唀䔀 一䄀吀䤀伀一䄀䰀䔀 䐀䔀 䘀刀䄀一䌀䔀

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倀䄀刀䌀 䐀䔀 䈀䔀刀䌀夀 刀䔀刀 䌀

The four towers resembling “four open books”, face each other and delimitate a symbolic area, they are holding an empty volume between them. The sunken garden shall be a quiet moment in the fuss and the chaos of the metropolis, “the centre of human knowledge is nature not man and his urbanism”. The building embodies a balance between mass and void, openness 13 Hanser, D. A., 2005.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Idid.

17 Ibid.

and enclosure. The choice of materials, a glass skin provided with wooden adaptable sunshade panels for the towers and a solid wooden deck for the podium, reflect a minimalistic approach that contrast the solemn parisian context.

In January 1989, the “Association pour la Bibliothèque de France”, a specifically founded administrative organ, launched the competition for “the biggest and most modern library of the world” at which 244 international architects applied. A mixed jury lead by I.M. Pei, the designer of the Pyramides du Louvre, selected twenty proposals out of them. It can be presumed from Jack Lang’s words, the minister of culture at the time, that the new library was required to respond to a very ambitious programme. It was intended to host 12 million books, offer appropriate tools to treat them in term of storage, conservation and accessibility, integrate advanced technologies, attract a larger audience, respond to students’ and researchers’ needs and “being a new representative monument” in a city as charged with history as Paris.

Since many renouned architects of the time submitted proposals for the new landmark, expressing their perception of culture and their interpretation of the city, which were the criteria behind the choice of Perrault’s design? How does this choice relate to François Mitterrand’s personality? Which other images of french heritage could have been exposed to the world? Through an overall analysis of the twenty proposals in relation to the requests of the competition brief and to Perrault’s design, it is possible to criticise the President’s decision.

Concept: “A place, not a building” Dominique Perrault

Competition Model Dominique Perrault

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

Since the new library was conceived as an opportunity for the revitalisation of east Paris, Mitterrand thought that it needed to be a highly visible image, even from the distance.

This is ultimately why he chose Perrault’s design which had the most effective image.13

Perrault’s concept is French in a traditional way: it is giving as much attention to the building itself as it is to the spaces in between. The design is composed of simple elements: four angular towers 79 m high solid constructions stoutly anchored in the ground - stand on a rectangular podium that hides a garden on a lower level. The classic geometry and simplicity attribute to the building a monumental character.

The analysis of the relationship between the city and its monuments inspired Perrault for his idea. In fact, all of them could be seen as crucial elements for the development of Paris. Moreover the large central esplanade is part of a continuity of broad empty spaces along the Seine, with the Champs de Mars, Place de la Concorde and Les Invalides. The architect’s aim was to build “a square for Paris, a library for France”. In his opinion, the greatest gift that could be given to Paris was a “place not a building”, an empty space that is open, free and stirring.

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Perrault’s Project

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Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

Situation Map 1 : 10 000

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Competition Entry July 1989

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Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

“Crosswise” (short) section January 1995

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“Lengthwise” (long) section January 1995

Competition Entries Catalogue

Arquitectonica

Ricardo Bofill

Mario Botta

The project is located on the Seine, witness of the principal transformations that have built and rebuilt Paris.

“The Isle of Knowledge” is composed by two major elements: the “Reading Room”, an eight-storey transparent building, the building of Books and Services which, emerging from river, symbolizes permanence and timelessness through its massive form and the choice of an heavy material. It supports physically the Reading Room above the Seine. The third element of the composition is the bridge, a structure of glass and steel, that links the Island of Knowledge and the city. It gathers administrative functions, galleries, shops and entrance.

The Library of France is incorporated of two square buildings both identical and different, united by the same geometric relationships but individually identifiable.

Between these two elements, open on the Seine, a covered space will establish the link.

The first building of the Library respects the preexisting alignment since is located 80 meters from dock. The second is facing the river, proposing a new alignment for the future constructions. A vast esplanade on the Seine is thus clear, which clearly marks entry.

The project is organized on plan around an axis, perpendicular to the Seine, which extends further to a pedestrian bridge, connecting the project to the parc de Bercy. It wants to be the Built counterpoint to the void of the park. The facade overlooking the Seine has two large cylindrical volumes where the four libraries are organized vertically. These volumes are connected by a large hall-atrium on the ground floor level covered by a glass roof. The base connects the three architectural volumes through the central space and all the other facilities like parking, technical spaces and offices.

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In order to fully asses the qualities and failures of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, a short comparative analysis was carried out with the other nineteeen projects (out of twenty), shortlisted by I.M. Pei, for the second stage of the general competition.

Gunther Domenig & Hermann Fisenkock

Future Systems

The roof is an open book. It takes ten seconds to reach the largest, most readable roof of Paris, thirty thousand square meters of full, empty and of looseness, where it is possible to converse with the sky, the city and the written wonders at the same time. The building is composed of three volumes connected by prisms that underlie it and covered by an impressive half round roof, hold up by big pillars.

The visitor can observes the alternation opaque and semi-transparent. The library shall represent the contrast between the weight of holding all of the infinite memory of the world and the lightness of new technologies.

Inspired by the Louvre and Tuileries, a thick building is implanted along the Seine, according to the development of open areas on the river which connects the center and the outskirts.

The Library is not not conceived as a unique building but like an urban room. This which brings the parties together heterogeneous program, it’s a space open public, offered to the city.

On the diagonal Nordsud of the site, the angles are held by two square buildings. The one that faces the Ministry Finance is porous and contains a sophisticated and complex program. The other one is a smooth square, thin and simple, which contains the administrative offices.

The library is constituted of three essentiel elements, the horizontal frame, the connecting element and the tower.

These three elements depend on each other and create the entity of the project.

The horizontal frame is not a frame but an urban layout which gives a limit and connects the two banks of the Seine.

The connecting element holds the library. The tower stands for force and is a symbol and a sculpture. It marks the entrance and will be seen along the Seine.

“It can not be 21st century, democratic republic of Scripture and Reading without the will to protect and channel the growth of electronic information.” Such is the first foundation of the project.The second lies in the story of the National Library and in his association with the most advanced architectural technologies. The designers have combined exceptional forms with the most elaborate materials of the time to propose an enveloping and forever open shell, such the cover of a book articulated on two huge glass pages curved that would illuminate the reading rooms.

The perception of the site, framed by the Bercy Bridge and the Tolbiac Bridge, is linear. This urban continuity is maintained thanks to the creation of a new park constituting the decor of the Library.

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Henri Edouard Ciriani

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Philippe Chaix & Jean-Paul Morel

Herman Hertzberg

Bernard Huet

The main influence behind the design is the idea of building a large terrace along the Seine which is overlooking the river.

Coming from the East, the volume holds the study library linked to the research part in the West, this Volume that is oriented towards Paris.

The connecting element marks the entrance and hosts a cinema, a Restaurant, a bookstore and a conference center.

The particular character of each activity is reflected in the way we can read the design of the element.

The Library opens to the capital, dialoguing with the park, the paths on the banks and even with the river traffic.

It will be a place for big events of national scope, the building can host a varied program.

The building will be a public monument for all with an impressive facade towards the Seine, the facade of the reading rooms towards the garden is transparent.

The Library consists of a closed volume with vertical accentuation, smaller volumes facing the garden and a spectacular facade construction that spans a large hall.

The aim of a library is not exclusively to communicate with motivated people, but especially and above all to motivate people which have not found the way to books.

The design shall help visitors to find what they are looking for. Thus the essential element is a hall covered by glass of dimensions higher than the Grand Palais, a public square, from where the various libraries are organised like huge bookshelves.

The central hall includes the service desk, the reception, the database and a cafe. From here the visitor can understand with one glance the totality of the different departments.

The main facade of the Library is located on the river in a optical continuity with the urban landscape ; the big arch cut in it donates an exceptional scale to the library. To privilege the facades towards the Seine and the center of Paris, the buildings are concentrated East of the bridge de Bercy, which allows you to open a large space: a representative forecourt and a public garden. The building is protected to the South by the big wall of book stores, held in the West by the small administration bar. The public space is complementary: a large covered square makes all of the elements of the program open to public. The shape of these elements allows the idendification of their functions.

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Nicholas Grimshaw

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Henri Gaudin

Richard Meier & Partners

Jean Nouvel

At the moment the electronic revolution seems to dissolve everything is solid, the image of the library becomes precarious. The ambition of the project is to rid the architecture of the functions it can no longer fill, and to explore aggressively this The Library is interpreted as a solid block of information, warehousing of all the forms of memory: books,optical records, computers.

In this block, public spaces are defined as absence of casting, empty dug into the mass of information. The central square encompasses all the elementsof the program- spaces reception, information and exhibition - arranged in an open way, improvised and modifiable, organized in defined units.

The building is simply and easily shaped, it offers a varied silhouette thanks to its transparent “Crystal Towers” which agree to the new sensitivity of our time. These “Tours de Crystal” create a corresponding strong image to the nature of an important urban monument while introducing an accentuation on verticality that articulates the facade.

They serve as columns of light and ventilation shafts and visual link of different floors of the library.

The significance of the library comes from the location at the Seine. The design is created from a profound research of the urban context. one side corresponds with the urban tissue, the other side is finer and smaller, adapted to the special needs of a library and bringing back the traditional parisian squares.

The orientation of the entrance and the public space underline the connection to the city.

The design is constituted of separate volumes, each use has its own shape corresponding with the design to the content, together they form an entity which is hosting a broad program.

The main facade of the Library is located on the river in a optical continuity with the urban landscape ; the big arch cut in it donates an exceptional scale to the library. To privilege the facades towards the Seine and the center of Paris, the buildings are concentrated East of the bridge de Bercy, which allows you to open a large space: a representative forecourt and a public garden. The building is protected to the South by the big wall of book stores, held in the West by the small administration bar. The public space is complementary: a large covered square makes all of the elements of the program open to public. The shape of these elements allows the idendification of their functions.

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Fumihiko Maki

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Rem Koolhaas, OMA

James Stirling

Bernard Tschumi

At the moment the electronic revolution seems to dissolve everything is solid, the image of the library becomes precarious. The ambition of the project is to rid the architecture of the functions it can no longer fill, and to explore aggressively this The Library is interpreted as a solid block of information, warehousing of all the forms of memory: books,optical records, computers.

In this block, public spaces are defined as absence of casting, empty dug into the mass of information. The central square encompasses all the elementsof the program- spaces reception, information and exhibition - arranged in an open way, improvised and modifiable, organized in defined units.

The Library is hosted in a black inaccessible box which would seem to emerge from the soil, without gravity.

The building would be like a minimalist object made up with clear shapes, simply assembled, since there is no need for any stylistic demonstrations on such a scale and in such a busy historical place.

It would be a Palace of Glass, shady, without materiality at the limits: steel planted columns will bear the beams and the glass roof.

Through the use of the book and the light as raw materials for the project, its architecture would be voluntarily sober, little talkative, rather listening.

The Library is designed as a series of independent buildings distributed around a public garden rising in tiers since the Seine towards the entrance hall located on the new avenue. This provision allows to give to each of the four libraries his own identity and avoid the unpleasant atmosphere that a complex of this magnitude could produce if it was conceived as a single volume.

The building gives the impression of a miniature city within the Tolbiac neighborhood in determining a new horizon.

The Library of France must be not a frozen monument but a event: a movement. Hence the concept of the open circuit where the continuation of knowledge is associated with the pleasure of a physical effort. A track of athletics on the roof is more than pleasant equipment: it characterizes the complex role of the Library as generator of a new urban character. Inside the new Library, one will identify five sets main circuits: those of the visitors, directors, books, electronic circuits and circuits mechanical.

Without nostalgia, the large reading room,has been moved outward, making eccentric space “Central”. From static and centralizer, the space of the Library becomes dynamic and off-center: in movement.

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

Francis Soler

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Alvaro Siza

Magnitude

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

Other architects as James Stirling, Henri Ciriani and Rem Koolhaas have strongly criticised the Parisian architectural tendency to build megastructures, black holes that phagocytise the surroundings. Because of that, they propose to integrate into the area a coherent “small city”, an urban fragment that is truly embodied by a composition of different buildings. They clearly establish a distinction between the needed scale and the purpose.

Contrary to them, Perrault is proposing a monolithic building in the scale of an urban intervention by combining a vast programme into one shape.

Since the library was gaining a key role in the international scenario, it was François Mitterrand’s interest to show the strength of the county through an imposing building.

Therefore the greater magnitude, intended as size, importance and brightness, that the President was craving for, was undoubtedly expressed by Dominique Perrault’s design.

“Le Roi Soleil” Caricatural collage of President François Mitterand

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Throughout the history of Paris, the waterfronts of the Seine have been enriched with voids: public gardens and monuments enhance the depth of those scenography’s. Dominique Perrault locates his design in continuity with this logic by proposing “a place, not a building”. His aim was in fact to donate to the 13th arrondissement a vivid square, an empty space for the community.

“To define a place, borders are needed”, that’s how the architect describes the four angular towers which contain a hollow volume. The same approach based on an articulation of voids has characterised Ricardo Bofill’s concept: a large esplanade on the Seine, obtained from the shift of two volumes marks the entry of the building. Nevertheless the threedimensional empty mass perceived from the winning design generates a much more considerable impact on the landscape of the city.

Style

Dominique Perrault was proposing with his concept a statement of sobriety and immateriality in a City built by ostentatious luxury.

He was looking for the luxury in the “minimalist installation”, a modern approach with a clear geometry. The compact complex provides an encompassing picture and creates a scenography along the Seine following the traditional context of Paris, the argument which Alvaro Siza used to “be coherent and traditional in urbanism to not contrast the spirit of the historic architecture.”

Ricardo Bofill disagreed, referring to the facade of the Louvre which is “devouring the surroundings” in its massiveness. The same position applies to James Stirling’s post modern design which suggests four libraries, connected by public space, each with a proper architectural expression for identification that create a monumental and spectacular character as a whole.

Mitterrand chose a compact design where the programme comes second and gets forced into an Architecture which does not reflect it. He chose for a classic and conservative architectural language ,referred to the mythical Library of Alexandria, centre of human knowledge. It includes his favourite material glass to make a political statement of transparency and create an image of straightforwardness and largeness.

Decalcomania

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

A controversial approach to Perrault’s way of using glass and transparency for the towers (storage space) and opaqueness for introverted reading spaces, comes from Architectonica, where the reading spaces are edged by transparency and the storage spaces created of local Stones from Paris stand for the permanence and timelessness of knowledge.The play with transparency and opaqueness was a leading topic in many design proposals and leaves a lot of room for symbolic interpretations.

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The more experimental approaches, going along with the one by Future Systems which combines the most advanced material to propose a smooth shell which would be “forever open”, present a diverse picture revealing an innovative character as Labrouste did for the first library.

Symbolism

Summarizing the previous statements about scale and architectural language, we can read the BnF in continuity with the french architectural tradition, inaugurated two centuries before by Etienne-Louis Boullée and Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, as symbolism: their designs have been defined “architecture parlant” (talking architecture) by Leon Vandoyer thanks to the strict correlation between the shape and the function of the building.

In Perrault’s design the four angular towers, symbolize “four open books“. As well as the proposal by Future Systems is a metaphor of the forever open book with glass pages, standing for the improvement of the technology of electronic information to make a democratic republic of writing and reading.

Les Grands Projets . Bibliothèque Nationale de France II

For Mitterrand the use of glass, the material which embodies the cultural symbolism of giving access of knowledge to all, demonstrates his political socialist position.

The Library is an abstraction, a manifest of his position in History, the decision making process stands symbolically for the Mitterrand -System, his personal style of exercising power: he wished to reserve for himself the final word in all the key decisions of personal interest.

Overlooking the other competition briefs, he chose the proposal that would fit his personality the best, by making a building a landmark which is monumental in scope and public in purpose.

“Alps Crossing” Caricatural collage of President François Mitterand crossing the Alps

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Other proposals were based on a symbolic use of the location at the bank of the Seine. Referring to the design of Architectonica which sees the Seine as the vital artery of the country and suggests the library as an Island of knowledge floating on the river, or Richards Meier, who states, that only the position along the Seine awards the building with a symbolic meaning.

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les grands projets parc de la villette bernard tschumi (1984-87)

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George Lau Arnaud de Sutter

Abstract

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Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

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Commissioned and considered as the first ‘Twenty-first Century Park’, Parc de La Villette needs to be remembered as a rare example of architectural theory directly translated into an urban project. The architect of the Park, Bernard Tschumi, challenged the inherent idea of a park from the classical and nature orientated park. The criticism from landscape architects was proven inappropriate after years of adaptation of the Park to the changing social contexts. In order to fully dissect the project, this essay analyses it from its theoretical background to its presence in the city. This essay searches for the expression of Tschumi’s theories behind his Parc de La Villette design in reality. How is this Park linked to the city tissue of Paris? How is it used and perceived

by Parisians?

On the architect and his architecture

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

The idea of creating a park in La Villette started in 1967, the year when the Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme (APUR) was set up by the then mayor of Paris and later president of France, Jacques Chirac. Since APUR was meant to be responsible for the urban and societal planning of Paris and its suburbs, Greater Paris, the organisation stressed the need of a park and open space for the public.2 In 1981, it released a study on public open space in Paris and criticised urban parks and gardens of lacking cultural relevance. In the report, APUR suggested to build three parks, which were all from industrial sites at the city edge, Parc André Citroën, Parc de Bercy and Parc de La Villette.3

d’Estaing. It included not only the park itself but also low income housings and public facilities. Intention at that time was to renew the segregated urban and societal condition made by industrial sites and railway.

However, the execution was not completed with only ‘Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie’, a big museum, being constructed.5 The intention to build a park is not to be fully attributed to François Mitterrand and his ‘Grand Projets’, as it simply builds upon work of his predecessor, but made major changes to it.

The Park is situated in the 19th Arrondissement and used to be comprised of a slaughterhouse with an animal market, commissioned in the 19th century and designed by Baron Haussmann.4 Subject to the decline of functionality of the place, the French government was planning to revitalise the place. The first proposal for Parc de La Villette appeared in 1974, announced by President Valéry Giscard 1 Hardingham, S. & Rattenbury K., 2012.

2 Velde R. V., 2012.

3 Ibid.

4 Baljon, L., 1992.

5 Donovan J., (n.d.).

Situation Map 1 : 3000

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Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Bernard Tschumi is a Swiss architect, born in Lausanne. He is considered as one of the key figures of Deconstructivism, which is generally considered as a postmodern architectural movement. He thanks his significance in the architectural field to large extent to Parc de La Villette, which was the first large scale project built based upon the idea of deconstructivism. The 55 hectares park was constructed from 1984 to 1987, with a construction cost of 2.1 billion French Franc.1

Original intent and competition brief

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The first objective stated in ‘Rapport d’objectifs’ was to create a twenty-first century park, drawing distinction from existing parks and classical parks from the past. The classical park was a place for social gathering, which only served for a particular social group, while the park in the 1980’s was merely comprised of green areas for non-working population. This set forth the position of Parc de la Villette to be a cultural instrument which completes the city and opens up to the suburbs. It was also mentioned “to acquire a new significance as a centre, especially for the eastern suburbs”.7

6, 7, 8, 9 Parc de la Villette, Rapport d’Objectifs

‘Programme’ then offered a concrete summary of functions to be provided, with five categories: main activities; reception, services, shops; administration, management; internal circulation; and logistics. Each function was specified as either open-air, covered or a building and linked to a necessary area. Besides, functions were categorised into two types based on its physical presence: concentrated and dispersed. Below is a brief collection of functions (more than 500 items were included, but yet many had equivalent meanings and here they are consolidated into around 50): an open-air theatre, covered multi-use spectacle site, cultural information centre, kiosks, workshops, discovery gardens, glasshouses, discovery areas for children, covered space for permanent expositions, exhibited objects (Ariane rocket, radio telescope, sundial, etc.), thematic gardens, baths, thermal baths, skating-rink, recreation areas, semi-hard sports fields, training circuit, playgrounds, swimming baths, group of restaurants, snack

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

A public institution, Établissement Public Parc de la Villette (EPPV), was established to draw up a detailed programme for the new park. It published two documents for the competition, namely ‘Rapport d’objectifs’ and ‘Programme’, corresponding with the Park’s objectives and programme respectively.

As a cultural instrument, it was stressed that the Park should present ‘pluralism’, in which users had the right to express themselves individually, ‘it is a park of reconciliation’. The report suggested three unifying concepts to achieve the status mentioned, namely ‘Urbanism’, ‘Pleasure’ and ‘Experimentation’.

‘Urbanism’ means every user should find their desired social life and activity in the Park. ‘Pleasure’ refers to relaxation and well-being within the proximity to nature.

‘Experimentation’ was explained as ‘knowledge and action’, which indeed asked for an idea to unite the Science Museum and the Music Centre.8

Key drawing of Parc de La Villette showing point, line and surface

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After being elected as President of France, François Mitterrand selected his projects to honour France’s role in modern art, politics and economy by then. The significance of Parc de La Villette among the Grand Projects lies in its location and program. Housing important cultural functions, like museums and a concert hall, the project was intended to complete technological and cultural spaces in Paris, which then revitalised the long neglected Eastern Paris and created a new centre in the working area. On a local scale, continuing the idea from the previous proposal, the park helped reuniting Paris and its banlieue with integrating the northern African population living at the latter.6

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Folies Bernard Tschumi

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Confetti OMA

Bernard Tschumi’s design approach

10 SCI-Arc, 1983.

11 Tschumi, B.,1987.

12 Ibid.

13 Ibid.

Tschumi uses three different systems - point, line, surface - and superimposes them, so they strengthen one another, but nevertheless stay independent. All systems keep their own logic but by their presence near each other or their intersections, ‘a carefully staged series of tensions that enhances the dynamism of the park’ is produced.12 Tschumi states every system is a ‘subject’, but they all cease to exist when they are confronted with each other. He uses decomposition as a structural solution, as it encourages a combination of ‘apparently incompatible activities’. He gives a example of the running track going through the pianobar inside the tropical greenhouse, but even on a morphological scale this happens, as many follies are struck by the North-South axial canopy, or structures colliding with already existing buildings.

Different types of functions or activities are first isolated and later distributed on the site.

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Among the nine finalists, the Dutch architectural office, OMA, was recognised in having one of the most competitive submission. Its founder Rem Koolhaas took opinion for the first round review seriously and improved the landscape aspect of the design by introducing thousand types of plant and a large circular forest. During a lecture at SCI-Arc in 1983, Koolhaas disclosed the situation of competition at that time. In the final meeting with the jury panel, OMA’s design was mistrusted as one of the jury members who was in great favor for the scheme, stressed that the realisation of the scheme had to be exactly done as the model, which left little flexibility for the client. Another turning point was the announcement of the austerity program by the French government three days before the announcement of the competition result, which gave OMA disadvantage in terms of cost of construction.10 Tschumi’s follies indeed had more flexibility than OMA’s confetti, which had five grids of five specific programs layered together, instead of Tschumi’s one grid for all.

Before assessing the relevance of Parc de La Villette in the city, it is crucial to understand the architect’s position when dealing the historical content of the site, urban context and the idea of a ‘park’. Tschumi understood at that time after Modernism, society was in a state of dissociation regarding social, political and cultural aspects, and the idea of meaning or symbol, made by postmodern architects did not respond to that situation. With that in mind, he realised the Park should oppose contexts, refuse pre-existing content and negate the dialectic of forms. By creating an architecture of no meaning, he envisioned the site having a dispersed and differentiated reality and thus marked an end to a long history of the utopian ideal of unity.11

Folies/Grid

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bars, cafes, buffets, picnic areas, receptions, children’s centres, bank, post office, police station, shops, hire companies, markets, administration and management office, cycle paths, storage spaces and workshops, firstaid post, public conveniences, car parks and underground car parks.9

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Line/Paths

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Surfaces/Planes Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

This fragmentation is made as if it were a montage, the park resulting in a set of images and films, expressions and thoughts. In order to fully understand the park one needs to move within its boundaries.

Following is an explanation of the three spatial principles Tschumi uses to build the Park.13

Metro are one. The image of a Folly was to be identified with the total image of the Park.15 In Tschumi’s view the advantage of the point grid system is that it ‘provides for the minimum adequate equipment of the urban park relative to the number of its visitors’, by which he means the system is necessary for a visitor to keep an overview over the Park.16

Point

Line

Tschumi’s intention was to provide a comprehensive image or shape for the terrain, which he saw as ill-defined. The original intention for the Follies was to become an symbol for the site, like the red telephone cabins in London are one, or the early 20th century entrances of the Paris

14, 15, 16 Tschumi, B.,1987.

17 Velde R. V., 2012.

18 Tschumi, B.,1987.

19 Velde R. V., 2012.

through the Bassin de La Villette. The link with the outer city is less obvious, as there are many physical barriers - a railroad and the Boulevard Périphérique. The Park in itself is placed between to Ancien Régime entrance roads, linking Paris with its surroundings, eventually leading to a route to respectively Flanders and Germany.17 The main link between the Banlieue and the Park occurs through these roads. Next to the Coordinates are placed the Follies designated for the most frequented activities, because access is then facilitated and encouraged. These activities are the City of Music, restaurants.

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

The purpose of this operation is to remove la folie from immersion in the historical object and to relocate it on the broader level of abstraction as an autonomous neutral object.’)14 are placed on a grid which is itself aligned to the Ourcq Canal. The gridalignment links the park to the bigger tissue of the city, especially to that of the La Villette basin.

The grid system of the Follies is inscribed in a bigger coordinate structure of two axes making a cross over the site. Tschumi gives these axes the name ‘Coordinates’, as they divide the site in a mathematical field. The main lines are the North-South axis, linking two metro stations - Porte de La Villette and Porte de Pantin and the East-West axis, embodied by the Canal d’Ourcq and the paths next to it. The North-South coordinate - links two old gates and forms the main transport route in the Parc. The East-West links the park with the inner city

Conceptual grid of Parc de La Villette alined with the “Bassin de la Villette” axis 1:10 000

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The points (which are the red ‘Folies’ or Follies in English) literally meaning madness or insanity but originally - in the 17th century - meaning ‘an extravagant house of entertainment’ and according to Tschumi: ‘The new meaning of folie [replaces] the extravagant display of eclectic styles with the regulated juxtaposition of unprecedented programmes.

Theory behind the Design

20 Tschumi, B.,1982.

21 Ibid.

22 Tschumi, B.,1996.

23 Tschumi, B.,1987.

24 Hardingham, S. & Rattenbury K., 2012.

The design of the Park should not be separated with Tschumi’s theory, since Parc de La Villette is - to large extent - a physical representation of his early theory, ‘The Manhattan Transcripts’. This book was published in 1981, and offered ‘a different reading of architecture in which space, movement and events are ultimately independent, yet stand in a new relation to one another, so that the conventional components of architecture are broken down and rebuilt along different axes.’22 With the notion of rejecting the oversimplified assumption of causal relationship between a program and the resulting architecture, Tschumi devised using the transcript to transcribe a series of events using photos, plans and sections and also diagrams of movements. It therefore allows readers to develop their own experience throughout the transcript.23 Although it was clear that Parc de la Villette drew inspiration from the Manhattan Transcripts, Tschumi did reveal his pragmatic strategy for winning the competition. With the original proposal of random locations for follies, he realised it would be necessary to put ‘logic’ in the project to convince the jury, which resulted in the arrangement of the follies in a grid.24

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Formed or generated by the position and intersection of Points and Lines are the Surfaces. As they are the only big spaces without objects interfering, these spaces receive ‘all activities requiring large expanses of horizontal space for play, games, body exercises. mass entertainment, markets, etc’. According to Tschumi, the Surface is to the Park as a square to the city.

The openness allows the user to ‘breathe’, but more important, the Park to be seemingly unpredictable and ever changing. They are not fully undetermined, as the place according to Lines and Points dictates its program to a certain extent.

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Surface

Bernard Tschumi approached the design by first setting a clear aim ‘to prove that it was possible to construct a complex architectural organisation without resorting to traditional rules of composition, hierarchy, and order.

By rejecting the totalizing synthesis of objective constraints evident in the majority of large-scale projects, the Park became architecture against itself: a disintegration.’ 21

The Manhattan Transcipts (Top), Joyce’s Garden (Middle), Parc de la Villette (Bottom)

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Square of playground, video workshops and Sports Center. The Coordinates are in that way a sequence of highly frequented activities, keeping them lively. Besides the two straight Coordinates, the Line system also includes the ‘Path of Thematic Gardens’, a scenic route through the area, curved randomly and following a circuit in which various parts of the Park are linked. This Path intersects the Coordinates at various places, and as the Path mainly consists of aligned trees, this provides the visitor with ‘unexpected encounters with unusual aspects of domesticated or “programmed” nature’.18 In his essay ‘Tracing the development of contemporary park-city relationships: Parc de La Villette, Paris’, prof. R. van der Velde states the use of the axis between ParisCentre and La Villette by Tschumi is more than just an ‘adroit use of an existing feature’.

of existing space, to change its use. The N5 folly is used as a physiotherapist centre, a function which has nothing to do with the surrounding open space. Apart from that, the Park also organises a lot of temporary events and exhibitions to attract visitors.27

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

The role of Parc de La Villette as ‘Twenty-first Century urban park’ immediately faced challenges from landscape architects, as a majority of them criticised it for its intellectual arrogance over humanistic consideration. However, the Park has proven its adaptability to changes in social needs from time to time, which in later time landscape architects started to praise the Park. Early critic Tom Turner wrote “Now that Parc de la Villette is substantially complete…

One can see that it was landscape design”.25 The relevance of the Park merely lies in its approach towards the notion of the park.

Opposing already existing, mostly late 19th century parks in Paris, this park was supposed to be cultural more than natural.

The Park is not made solely out of natural objects but also built forms. However, this was part of the commission, and isn’t entirely Tschumi’s merit. Nevertheless, the set-up of the Park is city-like and the there is no opposition between city and ‘park’ as it embodies both. The use of urban strategies was a new given, but not only Tschumi used it. OMA used similar objects but with other meaning and objectives. Small pavilions and programmatic distributed sectors are also in that design.26 This doesn’t mean this wasn’t revolutionary.

The flexibility of Tschumi’s design has allowed the Park to continuously adapt to current needs and maintain its relevance over time. Physical strategies are the insertion of new buildings and the transformation of programme in existing buildings. Insertion is to occupy open space, examples are the Zénith event space and the Philharmonie de Paris. Another strategy is readaptation

25 Turner T., 1996.

26 Koolhaas, R. & Mau B., 2002.

27 Jovanovic, B. & Baumann C., 2015.

Unlimited Grid present in the city context

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Role and Relevance

Instability

To translate the condition of instability into architecture, Tschumi searched for an analogy in the psychoanalytical term of ‘Transference’, in which fragments can be transported from one to another. Follies became the tool for this transference, as users see a deconstructed structure and later on reconstruct their very own experience about it.31 The formation of folies was based on ‘mechanical operation’, where the combinations of walls, stairs, windows and mouldings were done with mathematical coupling.

The intention of it was to omit meaning made from the architect.

28 29 30 31

Tschumi, B., 1986 Tschumi, B., 1982 Tschumi, B., 1986 Tschumi, B., 1987

Structures of galleries were tilted to literally express “instability”

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

‘The Manhattan Transcripts’, an essay Tschumi wrote a couple of years prior to the competition and formed the basic theory for the park. Three disjoint realities in which architecture is experienced are the world of objects, movements and events. The text is important not only to reveal the instability of architecture, but also suggest a way to formulate instability which was later found in the design of Parc de La Villette. In the forth transcript, Tschumi drew five sets of conditions in columns which object, movement and event were listed accordingly in rows. The vertical reading would reinforce each other as they belonged to the ‘logical’ practice in life, but the transcript allowed arbitrary combination across the three elements to result in new architectural experience.29 This is closely related to the idea of ‘mechanical operation’ mentioned in ‘Architecture and Disjunction’. This book can be seen as the theory behind the Park. Filtering thoughts from different philosophers, among whom Nietzsche, Foucault, Joyce and Lacan, he stated society is complicated and there is no coincidence between things and meanings. Form has no meaning more than its formal existence. Therefore, the meaning of architecture is unstable as it is subjected to the users and time rather than the architects. A multiplicity of people involved with architecture implies a multiplicity of meanings.30

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A major focus of Tschumi during his entire oeuvre has been the failure of the practice architecture in addressing the unstable social context, by only using a simple correlation between function and form. He states space is a common framework for all activities and architecture is being misused as a tool to achieve an overall harmony in the built world, concealing underlying social contradictions.28

Archetype

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Compared to Tschumi’s flat landscape design with important built forms, the seven landscape architects among the finalists had a way bigger focus on greenery and the relief of the site. All having wellarticulated landscapes. On the other hand, the jury criticised their lack of architectural articulation. This follows from the clear distinction between a garden and park, natural elements aren’t the only feature of a park. Tschumi further investigated the definition of a park and rejected all previous examples, as greenery obvious was’t the

32 33 34 35

Waldheim, C., 2006.

Koolhaas, R., 1997.

Ibid.

Hays, M., 1998.

Instead of constantly referring to the notion of park, Tschumi regarded Parc de La Villette as the largest discontinuous ‘building’ in the world. This shares thoughts with another competitor, OMA. Its design was mainly based on theories from its founder Rem Koolhaas’ book ‘Delirious New York’.

This book, stating ‘a retroactive manifesto for Manhattan’33, saw in this borough the ‘arena for the terminal stage of Western Civilization’, with his theory of ‘the culture of congestion’34. The skyscraper is a paradigma of this congestion, the stacking of floors results in functions lying literally on top of each other. An apotheotic example in the book is the Downtown Athletics Club. The sectional programming of this building was rotated 90 degrees and formulated in plan.35 Koolhaas’ idea of this Park is as architectural as Tschumi’s.

The treatment of trees as lines of wall - element from architecture

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

The garden - the French garden in particular - is a place for enjoyment of nature with an imposing order like symmetry. Unlike the garden, which has a certain ‘purity’ in dealing with natural elements, the park addresses audiences of many needs. The purpose of a park is therefore not bound to only enjoying or appreciating nature from a planned perspective but rather being a place for enjoyment of multiple purposes. The Parc de La Villette design is not predominantly addressed by its natural landscape.

defining feature of a park to him. He even publicly conveyed having little interest in nature.

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The most debatable issue about Parc de La Villette is whether it should be considered as a park. Tschumi’s design received criticisms from landscape architects that its theoretical design denied natural pleasure.

James Corner, a New York based landscape architect, stated: “This sentiment is very telling... it keeps the category of building/ city versus green landscape as separate entities.”32 Before arguing Parc de La Villette is a park, the notion of park should be first distinguished from the garden, which also has greenery as a key element.

Programme vs. Context Adaptability

36 Jovanovic, B. & Baumann, C., 2015.

37 Hasse, B., 2018.

38 Souza, E., 2011.

39 Turner, T., 1996.

The presence of people in the Park alters the inhumane scale of its vast dimensions because of the people becoming objects in the space. The contextuality of the nearby neighbourhood is therefore continued in the Park not solely by terms of the built structures, but also the people visiting it.

Early critics later recognised the Park as a complete one.39 The consistency of the large number of visitors in the Park is guaranteed by its good connections to nearby districts and constantly adapting functions. Although Tschumi mentioned the Park deals with its context by not responding to it all, the dialogue between the Park and its surroundings surely takes place.

The basic volume of cube offers numerous functional possibilities

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Apart from programmatic adaptability, another issue is contextual adaptability.

Tschumi explained his strategy in response to the surrounding physical contexts, was not responding to them at all. Criticisms on Parc de La Villette focus on its inhumane scale as compared to the surrounding urban fabrics.38 The notion inhumane is referred to the scale of a site or object, and more in the comparison with the dimensions of people. Although the scale of the site could be classified as inhumane, experiences people have there, would not lead to such a statement. Context is not only comprised of the surrounding built

environment but also the people visiting the park, from that area, and also far beyond.

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Over time, the adaptability of Parc de La Villette has allowed it to provide functions according to the change of time. The structure of the park is benevolent towards adaptation. Physical strategies are the insertion of new buildings and transformation of functions in existing buildings. Insertion is to occupy open space, examples are the ZĂŠnith event space and the Philharmonie de Paris. Another strategy is to rent out follies for particular usage. The N5 folly is rented by a physiotherapist centre, which has nothing to do with the surrounding open space.36 Apart from that, the Park also organises a lot of events and exhibitions to attract visitor to come. One of these bigger events, completely taking over the Park, is the official zone for the Olympic Games. Every folly will be used as a pavillion for one olympic sport, but as there are only 26 follies and 28 sports, two new pavillons are to be constructed.37 The follies are designed to switch programs flexibly, this case is a solid proof. Adaptation and change is a major theme in time, this given is crucial for the theory behind the Park.

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

Les Grands Projets . Parc de la Villette

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les grands projets grande arche de la dĂŠfense johan-otto von spreckelsen (1982-89)

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Zuzana Jurova Karolina Tatar Kylee Cagas

Introduction

Despite the desire for communal principles, high price of construction and eventual rent drove out public associations that had planned migration to the Grande Arche. Moreover, the lame interiors that fill the awe-inspiring form dissuaded anyone

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la Défense

A brief challenging architects around the world for a grand figure that could stabilize the cursory development of La Defense was dispatched shortly after Francois Mitterand was elected president.

The notion was to present animation and culture into the financial center so that it might be better accepted by the public. Any build would be inevitably visible from those famous venues throughout Paris; therefore, monumental qualities were ordered along with a consideration for empty centers seen in other structures along the axis. Lastly, the design must prioritize collective uses to especially benefit the underpriviledged.

It should have been a social token amidst a capitalistic web.

who could have called it home. As a graphic trademark to the district the Grande Arche is successful, but the perhaps naive ideals present in its conception did not survive the construction. It now exists almost exclusively as an icon; there is no internal life happening.

The Grande Arche is a hollow shell of massive proportion.

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The story of The Grande Arche de La Defense is one of fascination, length, and occasionally even humor. The idea came long before it’s fulfillment, and many pursued the opportunity to rear the esteemed site. Ultimately, it was in 1982 that Danish architect Johan-Otto Von Spreckelson’s design was adopted from a heard of over four hundred submissions. The construction of the cube took place simultaneously with the construction of the slab. When it was finished in 1989 the hollow(ed) cube stood over one hundred and ten meters tall, and was suprisingly met with little provocation from the public.

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La Grande Arche

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Situation Map 1:1000 Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la DĂŠfense

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la DĂŠfense

The Project

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la Défense

Maybe the most important aspect of The Grande Arche is its site. At the head of La Defense, and on the westernmost point of the historic axis, this specific location was extremely valuable in order to fully establish the area. La Defense as a business sector was vital to the financial interests of the city, and a monument to brand La Defense had the potential to actualize the neighborhood within the larger Paris. The Grande Arche is an excellent modern example of architecture’s ability to influence society.

The idea for a great landmark to punctuate the district was bounced between politicians and architects, but was always hindered by the constant fear of public opinion. It is interesting to examine those circumstances that finally lead to a project construction under President Mitterand. Furthermore, despite his unrelenting vigor in creating (and finishing) a monument that championed public interest, the Grande Arche still turned out to be quite shallow in those principles.

La Défense’s development overtime (As seen from the Arc De Triomphe)

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Out of the multitude of schemes, Spreckelson’s design was chosen for its purity. He proposed a simple arc of white marble; it could be a window to the world.

Transportation systems directly beneath the site prompted him to skew the cube six degrees off the axis, which by some twist of fate perfectly matched the rotation of the Louvre square. However, construction of such an ambitious form would not prove easy, and Spreckelson was hestitant to compromise.

The burden of constant altercation caused the architect to abandon his own project in 1986. Even so, the final product somehow matches the original design short of a few technical adjustments.

the axis. It could please as many people as possible. If this were not enough, President Mitterand commissioned the largest crane in the world to suspend a beam in the exact location and height it was to span, so that he could review its position amidst the Paris sky.

TO THE LEFT!

“The Grande Experiment” Prior to approving Sprechelson’s proposal, a white-painted steel beam was hung at the site of the future arch in order for Mitterand could assure it was not too unpleasant from the Champs-Elysées

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la Défense

The desire to maintain Paris as a modern metropolitan required development of business centers with contemporary building forms. Despite attempts to keep La Defense unobstrusive, public outcry was inevitable. First provaction came after the Gan Tower appeared in the backdrop of the Arc de Triomphe. The panorama of the city was being littered with lanky structures.

Business officials knew that if the city wanted to succeed, the entities needed to coexist; however, the area was in a state of chaos. A focal point seemed necessary. Luckily, within La Defense lied a site with massive potential.

Next to the magnificent CNIT structure and on the historical axis lay an open plot where a proper architectural approach could reconnect the district to the city.

This idea for Tete-La Defense was passed around for years. Many tried to stake their claim to it. Distinguished architects were consulted, and their designs amended, but in fear of criticism the political powers never materialized a plan before they cycled out of their positions. Should the project close the axis? Should the height be visible throughout the city?

Circumstances that would finally allow for construction of a monument arrived when Francois Mitterand came to power. He and his advisors decided to scrap previous plans in favor of public program and a form that could indeed be tremendous. They could establish a socialist masterpiece among a commercial tangle. An international contest was launched, citing French designer’s lack of ability to design monumental architecture.

Finally, Johan Otto von Spreckelson’s cube was selected. It was pure, simple, and reminiscent of traditional monuments on

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Power

[Not a] Monument

“A monument in its oldest and most original sense is a human creation, erected for the specific purpose of keeping single human deeds or events alive in the mind of future generations”– (Alois Riegl)

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la Défense

As an object for the public, a monument should certainly serve the masses. For the Grande Arche, this is barely the case.

It was to provide an office for ministries and a communication centre for public, but these programs would never actually reside at The Grande Arche, thus proving the less obvious reason for its manufacture: to portrait the political power of Mitterrand as a socialist president. In Paris, people treasure their public spaces more than their backyards; that is why the Grand Projects were so important to gaining Parisian favor. It seems that the true purpose behind the Grand Projects was financial and ideological. The Grande Arche serves to represent the political power of those who were finally able to erect it. Building these monuments around Paris has consequently created a strong image of political elite.

The shape of the Grand Arche represents a Triumphal Arch, an archetype that has long been used as a symbol of victory. A motif of a favorable form, with simplicity of shame and pure building materials could not raise much outrage. The gesture was strong but the execution was so simple and pure that it was almost impossible to disagree with. Perhaps this is also why visual aspects of The Grande Arche are where it is most successful, it serves as an orientation point and a support of the axis that marks the Paris skyline. The monument however falls short in its ability to remind the public of anything other than political prestige.

“Mitterand’s Triumphal Arch” Collage highlighting the political motive(s) behind the landmark

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From the Greek word, to remind, monument is a type of architecture whose purpose is to remind people of important events. Monuments are built by dominant groups, political elites for whom they serve as a tool to legitimize power. Monuments are also often designed to convey historical information, and they can thus develop an active socio-political potency.

Backlash

“The affair should have blown sky high as it had formerly done, since the glorious perspective had undeniably been profaned. But with summer coming on people at “Le Figaro” were already taking it easy, not a peep came from anyone. The Arch had been born in silence” [1]

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la Défense

Interest of the Grand Arche as a building has significantly decreased over time. Poor maintance resulted in numerous “incidents” starting with Margaret Thatcher getting stuck in the toilet during the opening in 1989 and ending in 2010 with an elevator dilemma. As a consequence, in 2015 the building was to endure a 200 million Euro renovation. Real estate group Jones Lang LaSalle has had to reduce the rent, charging 320 Euros per square metre per year compared with an average of 400 Euros [2] to maintain occupancy.

There is no doubt that La Grande Arche is one of the most popular monuments of Paris, but it is also a building of negligible importance. The symbol of a futuristic busines district on one hand and an office with an outdated and ineffective typology on the other. Spectacular success of one face it has its cost it the spectacular failure of the other.

-䌀irculation -䌀ommon 䄀rea -伀ffices

1 Chaslin, F. & Picon-Levebvre, V., 1989.

2 AFP, Mc Partland, B., 2014.

Interior plan of office spaces La Grande Arche

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Francois Chaslins deemed that the final form was from the start very effective in meeting marketing goals. But exluding the visual iconography the initial program of the building was eventually lost, turned into a trick of public relations. Dedicating the building for humanitarian fuctions was important to win favor of the masses; however, the interior design was of secondary importance. Limited by form and construction, the offices, conference rooms and social spaces were arranged poorly. When reviewing the repetitive floor plan, it is easy to see cramped working spaces, narrow corridors, and lighting problems. Large, open areas exist without enough windows and when combined with low ceilings result in space quite unpleasant to work in.

Les Grands Projets . Grande Arche de la DĂŠfense

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les grands projets musÊe d’orsay act architecture - p. colbloc, r. bardon, j-p. phillippon gae aulenti - interior (1981-86)

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Felipe Suzuki Ursini Michael Tsang

Introduction

The Musée d’Orsay, located on the left bank of the Seine and opposite the Jardin de Tuileries, occupies the buildings originally constructed as a train station and hotel. After a closed competition held in 1978, the architects Pierre Colboc (1940-2017), Renaud Bardon (1942-2011) and Jean-Paul Philippon (1945) were chosen to design the conversion of the complex into a museum destined to exhibit ‘all forms of art’ from the period of 1850 to 1914. The Italian architect Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) was commissioned with the interior design in 1981.

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

The timeline that comprises the museum’s history takes place mostly in the political background, for culture and architecture cannot escape politics in Paris, as this eventful and complex story demonstrates.

The successive parts of this enterprise involve multiple agents that enrich the problematisation of architecture as an ample field of dispute.

Situation Map 1 : 2000

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The construction works began in 1981 and ended in 1986, and since then over 86 million people have visited the museum. The process behind the conception of the project, however, dates back by more than a decade before its completion, when the wish to build such a museum first met the question of what to do with the Orsay buildings. Both the station and the hotel, inaugurated in 1900, went through a long period of decay from the 1930s onwards, and were subsequently the object of multiple speculations that almost led to their demolition in the 1960s.

From Demolition to Conversion

Already in the 1930s the Gare d’Orsay was regarded as obsolete: its location, the surrounding streets’ capacity and the length of the platforms were then inadequate.

The first proposal for deactivating the station came in 1935, just 35 years after its inauguration, when the city council planned its conversion into a sports facility. In 1939, all major lines ended their service for the Gare d’Orsay, making it a secondary station, very much oversized for its new functions and now restricted to the underground platforms. For the following two decades the station and hotel decayed physically while functioning under its capacity and occasionally hosting events.

A consultation for the replacement of the Orsay buildings with a new first class hotel was launched in 1961. Developers were called to propose new uses for the site as long as they maintained the number of bedrooms, between 1,000 and 1,500, featured in the programme and the underground rail.

The brief also stated that the hotel should

Cross Section in Watercolour Gae Aulenti

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

be of ‘monumental character’ and ‘evocative of palace architecture rather than functional architecture’ (Jenger, 1988, pp. 54). A number of famous French architects took part in the competition including Le Corbusier, with the controversial proposal of a 105 metre high building, and R. Coulon and G. Gillet, who won the competition on behalf of the developers, a major hotel group, and therefore the possibility of buying the building rights for the location.

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In 1969, President Georges Pompidou announced his intention to establish an arts and culture centre in Les Halles. The purpose would be to properly exhibit a collection chronologically located between the Louvre’s Romanticism and the Beaubourg’s Cubism, namely the second half of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th. By then, the Impressionists were shown at the Jeu de Paume, a rather small museum, and Art Nouveau was hardly represented in any museum. At the same time, the Gare and Hotel d’Orsay buildings were the subject of much debate.

Inauguration of the Gare and Hotel d’Orsay, designed by Victor Laloux

1935

Plan for conversion of the Gare into a sports facility

1939

Deactivation of the major lines at the station - operation reduced to the underground platforms

1961

Competition for the replacement of the Orsay buildings with a first class hotel

1969 1971

1973

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Valéry Giscard d’Estaing elected as president

d’Orsay demolition permit cancelled Les Halles market demolition d’Orsay buildings listed as historic monuments

1974 1977

Inauguration of the Centre Georges Pompidou

1978

Parliament approves the Museums Programme Law Architectural competition for the Musée d’Orsay

François Mitterrand elected as president

1981

Competition for the interior design of the museum Beginning of construction works

Faugeron, J., Hotel proposal, 1961 (Top right); Le Corbusier, Hotel proposal, 1961 (Top left); Coulon, R. & Gillet, G., Winning hotel proposal, 1961 (bottom).

1986

Inauguration of the Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Georges Pompidou elected as president

1900

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Timeline

Festivals and Sports Palace Proposal Lopez, R. 1935

Gare d’Orsay Deactivated 1971

Mitterand, Giscard d’Estaing & Chirac at the inauguration 1986

After the first class hotel was discarded, other uses that suggested a conservation of the existing structures were proposed, such as housing the Ministry of Finance or an architecture school. The museum programme, though, appeared as the most suitable candidate when the director of the Musée de France, Jean Chatelain, and the Chief Ministerial Advisor to the Minister of Culture, Jacques Rigaud, made the connection between the availability of the Orsay and the President’s project for a new arts and culture centre.

Following the conception of this idea, and perhaps as a strategic move, was the listing of the Gare as a historic monument by the Minister of Culture in 1973. In this way, the Orsay buildings went from imminent demolition to assured maintenance with heritage status within a period of three years.

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Gare d’Orsay 1920

The d’Orsay matter was then seen as a field of dispute where taking a stand was a very delicate decision. For years the architecture of these buildings was largely regarded as having little value but during the 1960s new approaches were being rehearsed, with critical revisions taking place in the public opinion and inside the architectural and

urban planning fields.

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By 1970 all obligations allowing construction works to start were already fulfilled indicating that the first step, which would be the demolition of the existing buildings, was ready to be taken. However, in 1971 the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Jacques Duhamel, objected to the project’s integration, or rather its lack of integration into its noble surroundings, which led to the cancelation of the permit, thereby putting to an end, in a rather mysterious way, the project of a decade. Jean Jenger, the director of the Établissement Public responsible for the Musée d’Orsay, in his analysis of this passage, indicates that the matter could be representative of a shift in French official architectural mentality: a reaction towards modernist enterprises of demolition and construction of brutalist icons. Redevelopment and rehabilitation would increasingly be the new policies of preference of a new generation of public architects. The redevelopment of Les Halles - that happened simultaneously to the Orsay hotel proposal and left the impacting image of a crater right in the centre of Paris - is regarded as a turning point in this direction, raising public awareness of the topic of preservation of 19th century structures against drastic transformations in the urban fabric (Jenger, 1988, pp. 59).

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

“Le Trou des Halles” 1971

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“Les Halles Market” Mc Avoy, 1956

Programme and Budget

1978 was the year for the official procedures, namely the approval by Parliament. The sessions discussing the budget for the museum are analysed in detail by Jenger

1 Calculated using the predicted square footage in the competition brief, of 43,000m² (30,000 existing + 13,000 additional m²)

In allusion to the Beaubourg, a second concern was also raised: ‘Is it (the Musée d’Orsay) to be a centre d’animation for 19th century art, or is it to be a museum along more conventional lines?’ (Jenger, 1988, pp.

72), or more aggressively and critically put: ‘Will this etablissement be a new Etablissement Public as the Georges Pompidou Centre? Will it be a new centre of animation entailing the recruitment of hundreds of part-time staff to give an amused and bemused public an explanation of the beauties of the 19th century art?’ (Jenger, 1988, p.73) Inauguration of the Centre Pompidou 1977

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

The conception works and technical studies for the d’Orsay site went on for twenty months and resulted in a detailed programme of necessities and considerations regarding the state of the structures and installations.

The viability of the enterprise was assured and estimates on costs were calculated.

In 1976, the new president, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, signaled his intent to carrying on the project, and a year later the official proposal took shape, already with more specific considerations towards the museum’s collection and public purpose, as well as for the architectural guidelines.

By then it was already outlined that the conversion design was to be the matter of a closed competition on which the final word would be the President’s.

(1988), revealing the main controversies of the debate. The Musée d’Orsay was included in the Museums Programme Law proposal, which also requested resources to modernise and improve museum facilities across the country, namely the completion of the Picasso and the Renaissance museums, the renovation of the Louvre, Versailles, Fontainebleau and Compiègne.

But out of the 968 million francs destined to national museums, 185 million (19%) were allocated to the creation of the d’Orsay.1 The proposal would result in a concentration of the overall national budget for national museums of 85% in the Ilê-de-France region alone. Such numbers raised criticisms from representatives of different provinces, that naturally would benefit from having more resources allocated in their regions - one of them arguing that, though Paris was undoubtedly the cultural capital of the country, it had just been awarded with the construction of the Pompidou Centre.

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Although the Centre Beaubourg was only inaugurated in 1977, its conception dates back to the late 1960s. So by the time Patrick O’Byrne and Claude Pecquet were commissioned in 1974 to develop the programme for the Musée d’Orsay, they had already worked in similar positions in the making of the Centre Georges Pompidou.

This reference to Piano and Roger’s building is a very important one in the process of the maturing d’Orsay. The size and programme, as well as the location of Beaubourg can easily be related, but the main allusion or concern was to the innovative and by then provocative aspects of the design - a vivid topic in the public debate in the 1970s.

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Such concern was motivated by the evident lack of detailing in the proposal’s estimate.

The 185 million francs referred only to a part of the necessary funds for the implementation of the museum, making it difficult to envisage the total costs of the enterprise, even though a careful brief had already been studied.

This led the Senate’s Finance Commission to propose the withdrawal of the d’Orsay from the Museums Programme Law. Under that threat, the Minister of Culture came up with a specific budget of 388 million francs (around 9,000 francs/m²)* to be spent between 1978-

Louvre “Liberty guiding the people” Delacrois, E., 1930

Orsay “The dance class” Degat, E., 1873-76

Pompidou New York City Mondiran, P., 1942

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

A third kind of criticism to the proposal referred to the size envisioned for the museum: ‘Is this not excessive? Is a gargantuan museum really on the right scale for visitors? Won’t we be annihilated and overwhelmed by such an accumulation of objects representing a single century?’ (H. Missoffe as cited in Jenger, 1988, pp. 73).

82 as a definitive figure, not even subject to inflation corrections. The construction works, however, started only in 1981, when the franc had devalued in 59%, and lasted until 1986, four years after the promised time period.

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The Minister of Culture’s response was to state that the proposal was for a conventional museum, although it would not be a mere extension of the Louvre, for it was conceived as a museum of art and civilization compromised with modern concepts. In that way the Musée d’Orsay was to be placed, in its programmatic conception, somewhere between the Louvre and the Pompidou, in a spectrum ranging from an elitist tradition to radical innovation and combination of functions. To have its financial resources approved in the political environment, the proposal would have to please the opinions in favour of approaching the project as an ‘animation culturelle’ facility, and those defending a traditional museum paradigm.

First Competition

• •

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•

the client would be the State, represented by the Établissement Public; a Scrutiny Committee, consisting of the Établissement Public’s administrative board and three architects appointed by the Minister of Culture, would examine and advise on the submitted proposals, but without selecting a winner or classifying them; the designer would be selected by the client, meaning the State, which in effect meant the president, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who had “clearly assumed personal responsibility for the selection of the winner.” (Jenger, 1988, pp 75-76)

A number of approaches emerged in the competition for the Musée d’Orsay with varying degrees of regard for the original station . In his description of the competition process, Jenger (1988) expresses the various opinions of the

Centre Beaubourg

Minister of Culture’s Closed Call

President Georges Pompidou

6 Architects/Proposals

Open International Call

(non deliberative)

681 Proposals

Scrutiny Committee

from 49 different countries

Scrutiny Committee, of which he was part of as the director of the Établissement Public. He categorises the proposals of the six architects into four groups, according to their approach: •

• •

•

Macel’s scheme is identified by its provision of new facilities within the train shed’s eastern end, comprising four levels reached by elevators along the building’s southern side. Jenger (1988), however, describes the scheme as providing too many new facilities such that the train shed became illegible.

This is evident when looking at the model of the Macel Proposal, Figure 21, available in Jenger’s text - the overprovision of facilities that overwhelms the former station becomes clear, particularly with the elevators which completely dominate the train shed.

22 Baptiste and Rochette’s proposals were categorised together based on their similar approaches of providing new accomodation at the eastern end of the train shed, leaving the remaining space open, as to preserve the crosswise view of the building. The criticism by the committee, as described by Jenger (1988), however, was that this changed the existing length-to-width-to height proportion of the train shed. Referring to Figures 22 and 23, the models demonstrate this through the reduced length of open space in the train shed due to the additions at the far end.

The proposals by Sirvin and Colboc were characterised by their focus on the longitudinal axis of the former station with new accommodation provided either side of an internal mall. Jenger (1988) explains that this attracted the interest of the committee, though some did express concerns over the

Etablissement Public board + 3 architects appointed by the Minister of Culture + invited technical advisors

President Giscard d’Estaing’s Selection (1979)

Winning Design Development

Competition for the Interior Design

Jury chair: Jean Prouvé + architects: Oscar Niemeyer Philip Johnson Emile Aillaud + cultural administrators: Michel Laclotte (Louvre) Frank Francis (British Museum) Willem Sandberg (Stedelijk Museum) Herman Liebaers Gaetan Picon (organising commmitte of the competition)

1 Winning Proposal 30 Prizes

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

As the public body responsible for the project, the Établissement Public drew up the competition conditions with the Ministry of Culture, defining a number of points including that:

Musée d’Orsay

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In 1978, after the approval of resources for the Musée d’Orsay in Parliament, the competition for the architectural design was launched between six architects chosen by the new Minister of Culture, Jean-Philippe Lecat: Hervé Baptiste, Yves Boiret, Jean-Claude Rochette, Serge Macel, Pierre Sirvin and Pierre Colboc were invited. The specific criteria behind the Minister’s choice are unknown, but all except for Colboc then occupied a public architectural position, suggesting a preference for candidates with experience in technical issues in historic buildings.

Competition Structures

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Boiret’s proposal was unique in that it prioritised the restoration of the former spaces of the original station, with new accomodation provided along the southern side, hung from the former hotel. As Jenger (1988) explains, this divided opinions between those who wished to prioritise the quality of the museum and those who wished to prioritise the preservation of the d’Orsay as a monument, with concerns raised, especially by the curators, over the immense size of the train which would overwhelm the scale of the artworks, and the lack of flexibility in the museum sequence. The only available image of the Boiret proposal, seen in Figure 26, is, however, rather limited in its portrayal of the scheme, making it difficult to apprehend this restoration-focused approach of Boiret.

The Scrutiny Committee report in April 1979 did not place the entries in any particular order but did express, amongst its various opinions, favour for the Colboc and Boiret schemes, and so when the President came, in May 1979, to make

Jenger (1988) explains that the Boiret scheme respected the original building to the maximum, but left an excess of empty spaces which would be out of scale in relation to any artworks, in addition to providing poor quality artificial lighting below the ground level. The Colboc scheme, on the other hand, provided high quality accomodation for the museum along both sides of the proposed central mall, and overlooked the Quai Anatole France, whilst providing great variety in lighting conditions. There were, though, some concerns over the change to the existing space and the concealing of the vertical supports of the vaults behind the proposed workshop and gallery spaces.Ultimately Jenger (1988) concludes that for these reasons, the President selected the Colboc scheme with the understanding that this was to simply be a selection of the architectural approach and the team that would lead the project. Thus in June 1979 all the candidates were informed by the Établissement Public, in liaison with the Minister of Culture, of this decision.

In discussing these proposals, Jenger continually refers back to the way in which each scheme deals with the former station, highlighting its retention as key to the competition, yet some, particularly the architects of the Scrutiny Committee, wished to prioritise the quality of the museum, disregarding the architecture of the original station. Louis Miquel, one of the aforementioned architects of the Scrutiny Committee, expressed his regrets that none proposed the ‘demolition of the existing buildings and their replacement.’

(Jenger, 1988, pp. 87).

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

•

the final decision, these two were extracted from the six proposals to be explained to him in a final report drawn up by the Établissement Public (Jenger, 1988).

Macel, S., Proposal, 1979 (Top); Baptiste, H., Proposal, 1979 (Middle); Hochette J-C., Proposal, 1979 (bottom).

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way in which the vertical supports for the train shed vaults were concealed behind the new provisions either side of the axis. Jenger (1988) differentiates the two schemes through their implementation of new floor space. In the Sirvin scheme this was of an open nature, featuring apsidal recesses, as seen in Figure 24, however, it was believed that this could result in noise nuisances unconducive to the contemplation of art.

The Colboc scheme, on the other hand, was of a closed nature, as seen in Figure 25, avoiding the aforementioned issue, making it the preferable proposal.

Rochette, J-C,, Proposal 1979

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Boiret, Y., Proposal 1979

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Sirvinm P., Proposal 1979

But one could say that these facts were further explored by the museum’s curators for reasons unrelated to technical concerns. The curators clearly did not approve the architectural approach that was chosen in the competition. ACT’s proposal was awarded for balancing the creation of adequate exhibition spaces and the respectful preservation of the existing architecture. The additions proposed by the winning team were meant to integrate with Laloux’s design. Nevertheless, the curators thought that the renovation should introduce contrast and grandeur, overshadowing the Gare intentionally. They actually shared this opinion already stated by the Scrutiny Committee architects, that regarded the buildings as worthless architecture when suggesting that the best proposal would involve demolition.

The situation, therefore, that led to the commissioning of an additional architect was that these powerful agents in the administrative structure behind the Musée d’Orsay disliked ACT’s plan, and were willing to fight for the museum’s architectural approach. Thus the competition for the interior design, held in 1980, can be seen as a display of power and a political maneuver by the museum’s curators.

‘They (the curators) did not appreciate the idea of a winter garden, which they described as pastiche and retro, and they thought the footbridges were too ornate and complicated. More important, the curators wanted their own architect to oversee the design so that each room would be decorated around the works of art it was supposed to display’ (Scheider, 1998, pp. 26).

The competition for the interior design was launched by the Etablissement Public in March 1980 with the proposals submitted only two months later in May. According to Jenger (1988, pp. 120) this was ‘with the agreement of the architects’, no doubt reluctantly as ACT had ‘tried to convince the Etablissement Public and the curators that they could manage the entire restoration’ (Schneider, 1998, pp. 26). Four teams of internationally recognised designers were subsequently called by the Établissement to present their ideas - or indications of their ‘attitude of mind and method of approach’ (Jenger, 1988, pp. 120): •

Joseph-Andre Motte was a renowned French designer known for his furniture designs, and later his interior designs. Prior to this competition his works included the interior of the Orly-Sud airport, 1961; Le Havre ferry terminal, 1964; the renovation of the Parisian metro stations, 1973; and the interior of the Roissy airport terminal, 1975. He had also collaborated in furniture design with fellow competitor, Alain Richard, in establishing ‘Groupe 4’, alongside René-Jean Caillette and Genevieve Dangles (“Joseph-André Motte, architecte d’intérieur et maître du design”, 2013).

•

Alain Richard, another renowned French designer, had previously worked with Motte in the aforementioned ‘Groupe 4’. Beyond furniture design, he was known to be a specialist in interior design of museums, having realised more than twenty within and beyond France (“Alain Richard - Disderot”, 2017).

•

Roger Tallon, a French designer, and Massimo

Vignelli, an Italian designer, were both known for their works in industrial and graphic design. They worked together in the 1970s and their previous collaborations included working on the graphic design for the RER transit system, both having notable experience in projects related to transit and mobility (Vignelli, 2007).

though not necessarily one that is self-aware. This can be attributed to Jenger being the director of the Établissement Public responsible for the museum, and though this gives him credibility for his inside knowledge, it also places him as an agent in the construction of this narrative behind the making of the Musée d’Orsay.

Gae Aulenti, who went on to win the commission, was an Italian architect and designer, and the only woman to participate in the competition. The early years of her career encompassed graphic design, followed by successes in furniture design, before taking on numerous large-scale museum designs in the 1980s, including the Musée d’Orsay (“Design & Art: Gae Aulenti”, 2007).

• 22 The brief asked for a detailed design of three significant sections of the museum containing display screens, plinths, showcases, seatings, directions, lightning, and panels. Amongst the guidelines, one passage should be kept in mind:

This active role is never acknowledged, for the reader can never tell who is actually speaking, leading to dubious understandings of the text. In fact, this lack of clarity provides the author with the cynical liberty of transitioning between a historian, the director, a witness, or even unclear entities that represent an alleged consensus, while never clearly stating it. This freedom weakens the arguments, that cannot be traced to any solid reference, which sometimes leads to a lack of coherence. Facts, descriptions and voices of opinion are mixed, making it difficult to understand the outcome of the interior design competition. One must therefore speculate with what Jenger provides, in face of the lack of different sources.

‘The museum layout is to respect the rhythm and spaces of the building, as enhanced and restored by the architects (...)avoiding both pastiche and brutalist contrast (...). The interior design contributions are intended to further enhance this dialogue and not to add on yet another discourse which would impair the unity of the finished work’ (Jenger, 1988, pp. 121).

Regarding this competition, Jenger acknowledges that ‘the choice was doubtless more difficult than had been that of the architectural scheme selected a year earlier.

It hinged on more subtle considerations which were harder to pin down objectively’ (1988, pp. 123-125).

It therefore comes as no surprise that his conclusions about the four proposals are similarly ambiguous:

•

For the analysis of this competition, one faces the problem of scarcity of information beyond that of Jean Jenger’s book, ‘Orsay, the metamorphosis of a monument’. It is undoubtedly an impressively detailed source on the complete history of the museum, but reading it can be challenging, for the author’s writing is deceptively descriptive. From the implications of ‘story-telling’ behind the titular word ‘metamorphosis’; to the forewords by Presidents who oversaw the project, Mitterand and Giscard; to the fact that it was published in 1988, only two years after the opening of the museum - it becomes clear that the intention of the book was to convey a compelling narrative,

•

Of the scheme by Motte, it is highlighted as the only one ‘to challenge much earlier aspects of the project, including the architectural scheme itself’.

The submission thus comprised a broad range of possibilities: ‘a new link between access points to the oval rooms… semi-circular raked areas on either side of the concourse… swivelling display screens between the main entrance arcade and the oval rooms.’ The subsequent conclusion drawn by Jenger was that the ‘sheer diversity of the design vocabulary… made the drift of the approach difficult to grasp’, (1988, pp. 122).

•

The Richard’s scheme, Jenger (1988, pp. 123)

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After only a year of developing the winning proposal, the Établissement Public decided that an additional architect would be required for the interior design of the museum. This measure was charged with both technical and ideological reasoning. Officially, the interior designer would be a complementary asset to the architectural team, which was overloaded with the overall design and restoration issues, and therefore could not handle the specifics of adjusting the settings to the art collection. ACT was formed by very young architects, the three of them in their 30s by then, and their lack of experience did not inspire confidence in the administration, especially after it was discovered that the metro and RER trains, that were not taken into account, would actually create sensitive vibrations in the museum - a problem which would delay the construction works significantly.

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Second Competition

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•

In discussing the Tallon-Vignelli scheme Jenger (1988, pp. 123) states that they ‘accepted the architectural scheme unquestioningly, even stressing its quality’ and describes their proposed ‘“display screen-structure”... designed to facilitate maintenance and to enable the works of art to be moved easily.’ The design of this singular element is commended as a ‘remarkable design’ in itself, yet Jenger concludes of the scheme that it gave ‘more importance to the form and function of the interior design elements than to their integration with the architecture.’

As for the Aulenti proposal, Jenger (1988, pp. 122) seems to believe that ‘Aulenti did not apparently see fit to question the architectural scheme.’

Asides from ‘a new design for full height access doors to the oval rooms from the terraces… she seemed to have accepted the project’. In his conclusion Jenger describes Aulenti’s proposal as ‘frank, devoid of mannerism and unhesitating… a restrained contemporary approach… without formally adopting historical interchange.’

• Repeatedly in his writing, Jenger leads these conclusions with the ‘overall impression…’ or the ‘general impression…’ (Jenger, 1988, pp. 123), indicating a degree of uncertainty in this voice of opinion. The essence of each proposal is, therefore, difficult to grasp, leading to great difficulty in comprehending the conclusions drawn about these four schemes. In reading his descriptions of the four proposals, he seems to continually refer back to the compatibility with the architectural scheme, of which the proposals by Motte, Richard, and Tallon-Vignelli

After winning the commission it becomes evident that Gae Aulenti was clearly aligned with the curators architectural inclinations and was willing to fight for it. From the very beginning, she ignored her official role as a complementary architect that was supposed to mediate the dialogues between the architectural design, developed by ACT, and the team of curators.

Instead, using her experience, Aulenti carried on a complete review of the original plan, ultimately changing the overall character of the design drastically.

Besides the fact that she had the strong lobby of the curators on her side, Gae Aulenti also had the prestige and political skills that ACT lacked. In the 1980s alone, she had three other museum commissions: the permanent collection galleries in the Pompidou Centre, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, and the National Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona. Her strategy to maneuver decisions in her favour consisted of pitching proposals directly to the Établissment, ignoring ACT and thus pushing the administrators to choose between them (Scheider, 1998, pp. 28). This also involved undermining ACT by taking advantage of the complexity of their work, as explained by Schneider: ‘...since ACT had spent most of its time on the overall concept of the museum, the details of the interior design clearly needed work when Aulenti arrived. (...)Colboc stated that ACT had already

noticed many of the problems Aulenti pointed out, and was moving slowly to resolve them. Aulenti pushed the pace of this resolution faster than ACT could adequately respond. (...) Colboc admitted that ACT was naive during this battle and did not know how to fight back. Aulenti was older and had more experience dealing with bureaucracy.’

(Scheider, 1998, pp. 30) Aulenti’s skill is also expressed in her own words referring to her relation with the French construction crews, clearly acknowledging her artfulness, and also the awareness of her victory in the Musée d’Orsay feud: ‘As a woman and a foreigner, my ploy was to have them think of me as their mother, whom they must please. That is how I got my way’ (Aulenti as cited in Schneider, 1998, pp. 30). According to Schneider (1998), the combination of relentlessness and prestige led her to threaten to quit if her ideas were not implemented.

The balance of the dispute won by Aulenti, as it became evident, was, in short, that a design originally directed towards complementing the existing architecture ended up heavily contrasting with it. From composing with the station’s style in mind, the design turned to discredit it. Specifically, Aulenti eliminated the winter gardens, footbridges, entrance staircase, archway and amphitheater that featured in the initial plan. She also designed two towers on the east side of the Gare, that by no means are discreet additions, and imposed the postmodern style in the interior architecture, especially through material and colour choice.

What would have been a discreet and unassertive interior, became a heavy and imposing composition, strong enough to compete with the Art Nouveau of Laloux. ACT’s contribution in what was actually implemented is reduced to the restoration works and the overall organization of the museum, such as the circulation and the structure of the smaller rooms.

The architectural spirit of the Orsay, though, the atmosphere of the visitor’s experience, is Aulenti’s work:

‘I viewed the station as a place, a terrain where I could put a new architecture in place. The station was, of course, a historic monument, but it does not deserve all the respect given it when it is said that it is a perfect, original, and coherent expression of a past that we must revere. Orsay is basically a box.’ (Gae Aulenti as cited in Schneider, 1998, pp. 31).

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

•

are apparently unsatisfactory. Aulenti’s proposal is deemed the only one capable of ‘assimilating Victor Laloux and his station, ACT Architecture’s scheme and the ambitions of the museum brief’ (Jenger, 1988, pp.

125), yet it later becomes evident that this is not the case as Aulenti goes on to significantly change the course of ACT’s design. Jenger even acknowledges later on in his writing that she ‘ignored Laloux’s architecture and A.C.T. Architecture’s scheme’, justifying this as being in order to ‘better rediscover them at the end of each stage of the process’ (1988, pp. 131). This conflicting account makes it difficult to ascertain the exact reasoning for the selection of Aulenti through this competition, for we do not know the composition of the jury or the mechanics behind the selection process.

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explains, ‘did not challenge the architectural scheme, but suggested one - in his opinion, essential - element… a kind of petal-shaped awning echoing the glazed canopies of the station… an intermediate scale between the architecture and the works of art’. This element proposed by Richard is deemed by Jenger (1988, pp. 123) as ‘questionable’ in that it tended to ‘negate the architecture.’

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Cross section of detailed scheme after Aulenti’s involvement 1982

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Cross Section of building before Aulenti’s involvement 1979

Inauguration

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First, the identification with the Grands Projets is not trivial. As described, the process behind the making of the Musée d’Orsay started a decade before François Mitterrand was elected President, and went through two prior mandates.

ACT Architecture, Preliminary Entry to First Competition 1979

Nevertheless, it was quickly tagged as the first Grand Projet, and therefore strongly linked to president that inaugurated it,

2 Quote from Mitterand’s inauguration speech of the Musée d’Orsay, 1986, “Voilà pourquoi je crois qu’on a agi sagement.”

It is a fact that when Mitterrand assumed the presidency, the project of the museum had already advanced, and construction works were about to begin. Gae Aulenti had already been in Paris for months exercising her influence in the design in tune with the curatorial team. However, Mitterrand’s decision of continuing the works is not to be taken lightly, especially keeping in mind that Giscard, who was responsible for the approval of the museum and both architectural competitions, was regarded as a right wing politician, while Mitterrand was a member of the socialist party.

It is key to remember that, even if the Musée d’Orsay was already past its conception phase, the Grands Projets, as a major political and architectural endeavour, were completely gestated by and around Mitterrand. Orsay was the first to be inaugurated, but at that time, in 1987, it is fair to assume that all the other Grand Travaux were at least envisioned, some already in construction phase. The architectural conceptions and political plans regarding the Grands Projets had broad media coverage, making the association of the Musée d’Orsay an organic fit.

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

This excerpt from the New York Times article “In Paris, a face lift in grand style”, written

by Paul Goldberger in May 1987, a few months after the inauguration of the Musée d’Orsay, condenses some key points of the discussion, fresh as it was, around the museum’s opening.

rather than the ones that conceived it. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and Georges Pompidou’s wife were invited to the opening event, where Mitterrand credited his predecessors, describing his own role as of mere continuity and praising the wisdom of the collective effort2 (Mitterrand, 1986, as cited in “Inauguration du musée d’Orsay par le président François Mitterrand”, 2019).

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“So far, the major test of the Grands Projets in the public’s mind has been the Musee d’Orsay, which opened last December. It has attracted the most attention thus far.

Indeed, the vast crowds make it in this sense an echo of the wildly successful Pompidou Center with which it shares not architectural style but a sense of the museum as a kind of vast urban circus. Unfortunately, what is best about the d’Orsay is what is visible from the outside - that Paris’s greatest 19thcentury train station has been preserved and superbly restored on its exterior. Within, the new museum, designed by the architect Gae Aulenti in association with the firm of ACT, is a battleground between a series of clunky, vaguely Egyptian intrusions created by Mrs. Aulenti and Victor Laloux’s original BeauxArts architecture. The paintings are reduced to the role of hapless spectators in this architectural dogfight” (Goldberger, 1987).

Returning to the New York Times critique, a second point of interest is the comparison with the Pompidou Centre, established around the aspect of a “vast urban circus” (see Lexicon - Animation), which would be a shared feature of both. This comparison, as demonstrated, was present in the

This success is not only measured by the institution’s attendance, but also by the assimilation of the architecture as a coherent and iconic design. Here, Paul Goldberger’s main point is to, as many did, criticise the conversion design of the Musée d’Orsay, which he does mobilising another interesting point: the praising of the building’s restored exterior. For that matter, it is worth reminding that Laloux’s station was rarely admired by architects during the 60s and 70s, and that the decision of preserving it was controversial in a way that later influenced the conversion design in its successive phases.

Goldberger’s critique is directed against Aulenti’s clashing intent, that introduced elements designed to overshadow the preexisting ones. He points out how poorly he believes the strategy was carried out, but his disagreement is essentially with the approach itself, as he expresses through the acclaiming of the old Gare as a glorious victim. It is almost as if an imposing interior design had produced a sort of architectural martyr out of a building that, not twenty years before, was on the brink of demolition.

Mitterand and his entourage at the inauguration ceremony 1986

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

However, at the risk of sounding conspiratorial, one can speculate about the role of a very particular character, namely Anne Pingeot, Mitterrand’s mistress and mother to his child since 1974. If suggesting any influence Pingeot might have exerted seems far fetched, to ignore that she was one of the curators of the museum seems naive, especially knowing of the strong presence of the curatorial team in the architectural process. Although Mitterrand was perhaps never directly active in the museum, Pinot’s presence is a personal link to the Orsay, even if a hidden one, only disclosed years after the death of the former president.

imagination behind the Orsay’s conception in different layers, and apparently was still alive a decade after, now with the Beaubourg recognised as “wildly successful”.

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As for any significant interference of the president in the final development of the museum, it is difficult to be assertive.

Looking at the conception processes behind the Louvre Pyramid and the Bibliothèque Nationale, it is hard to imagine a Mitterrand uninterested in the architecture of a building that would be identified as the first of his Grands Projets. Knowing that the major shift in the architectural approach of the Musée d’Orsay happened before his mandate, with the arrival of Gae Aulenti, it is reasonable to imagine that MItterrand (coincidently) approved the proposed style, as he decided for continuity.

Conversion

The decision to convert the Gare d’Orsay into a museum was an abrupt and controversial one. It was not the necessity of creating such a museum, but the necessity of preserving the buildings that was questioned: there was never any agreement on the historical and architectural relevance of the Orsay, which, for some, would be the primary criteria to protect a building from being demolished. Nonetheless, the advanced plans for the construction of a new modern hotel had to be cancelled after the Minister of Cultural Affairs decided to act upon his opinion that the project was improper for one of the most famous Parisian settings.

“Olympia” Manet, E., 1863 Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

In Paris, architecture is never trivial, for it is a crucial component of its identity, understood in the most political connotation possible. In the Orsay case, not intervening in the landscape was certainly controversial among the architectural community, as proven by the following development of the Musée d’Orsay enterprise, but was understood as an alternative to protect the city’s image. In Paris’ landmark economy, architectural relevance is both overvalued and banalised, making it a very flexible rhetorical device, that can be handled and shaped to meet different wishes and needs. The conversion of Musée d’Orsay is subject to this Parisian discursive structure.

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Knowing how controversial the design of the Louvre pyramid was more than a decade later, one can imagine that the idea of placing a modernist building looking at the Louvre from across the Seine was far from a consensus. If Mitterrand was willing to fight for this new landmark of modernity and his personal legacy, Minister Duhamel was ready to, in the name of a sort of decorum, defend the preservation of a building regarded as valueless by the dominant architectural opinion. Valueless, but fitting - an architecture that belonged to its landscape.

Animation

The French definition for ‘animation’ is broader than the English translation. Not only liveliness, but also the “methods and means to actively involve members of a community in the group life” (free translation of the online Larousse dicitonnaire definition3).

Apart from a state of spirit, the term refers to a strategy, a set of activities and dynamics: an architectural programme even, namely the ‘centre d’animation culturelle’.

“Little fourteen-year old dancer” Degas, E., 1880.

Musée d’Orsay 3 “Action de mettre de la vivacité, de l’entrain dans quelque chose; ensemble des moyens et méthodes mis en œuvre pour faire participer activement les membres d’une collectivité à la vie du groupe”.

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Therefore, the interesting question here is not only if the Orsay is a true ‘centre d’animation’ or ‘just’ a museum, but if and possibly how the ‘animation’ concept was integrated into the shaping of Musée d’Orsay and its architectural design. In the Pompidou experience, the programme is clearly connected to the architectural liberty enjoyed by the architects and awarded by the jury. The design concept speaks of its programme’s essence of connectivity, free flow and dynamism. As for the Orsay, the discursive strength of the design lays on statements not centered around the programme. The resulting unconventional interior setting traces back to different concerns, and therefore does not primarily communicate with the users on the subject of use.

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Maybe the most notorious example of this architectural type is the Centre Georges Pompidou, designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano and inaugurated in 1977. In its very animated architecture, the building houses a museum (galleries for the collection and temporary exhibitions), two cinema rooms, auditorium, conference room, documentation and research centre and library. The combination of the traditional museum with different programmes, intended for a diverse public and more involved in the everyday life of the Parisian population, was a notable innovation - one that shared divergent opinions at the time, and influenced the conception of the Musée d’Orsay.

Imposing

Imposing (adjective): Grand and impressive in appearance.

Impose (verb): Force (an unwelcome decision or ruling) on someone; Exert firm control over.

Source: Oxford Dictionary Gae Aulenti and ACT disagreed on whether the design of the museum should be imposing or not. Aulenti defended an imposing intervention and regarded the existing building as less important, “a box” only. ACT, on the other hand, considered the old station an imposing enough architecture, and therefore proposed a respectful and unassertive complementary design.

“Madame Charles Max” Boldini, G., 1896.

Musée d’Orsay

Les Grands Projets . Musée d’Orsay

Before all this, another imposing moment was key to the Musée d’Orsay enterprise: the listing of the complex as a historic monument. This was either a strategy to prevent its demolition or a move to legitimise conversion as an alternative after the decision was made. Regardless, the Minister of Culture, Jacques Duhamel, imposed the conservation of the Orsay against the advanced plans of powerful agents in the hotel industry. It was also the opinion of many architects that the buildings should be demolished in order to give space for new designs.

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To win this dispute, Gae Aulenti proved herself to have imposing qualities, displaying fierce skills and strategies to exert control and ultimately ‘have her way’. In fact, the commission of an additional architect to handle the design of the interior was already an imposing move by the curators, who wanted to impose a shift in the architectural approach.

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