L'affaire « Henri Ciriani contre le
Conseil Général des Bouches du Rhône » sera plaidée le jeudi 6 décembre
devant la 1ere chambre du Tribunal de Marseille. L'audience est à 8h30. Il faut
noter que le Conseil National de l’Ordre des Architectes, dont le Président est
Lionel CARLI, s’est joint à la procédure en appui d'Henri Ciriani.
IL GIORNALE DELL'ARCHITETTURA, N.108 PAG.13
IL GIORNALE DELL'ARCHITETTURA, N.
108, AGOSTO-SETTEMBRE 2012-10-05 SEZIONE MONDO PAG.13 ( extrait)
Tommaso Cigarini & Miriam Saavedra Ozejo
FERMENTO NELLA CAPITALE
PERUVIANA
Il ritorno di Henri Ciriani a Lima: qui vivo la mia seconda vita
Dopo 30 anni di lavoro in Francia l'architetto si
sta dedicando anima e corpo alla sua città natale attraverso la didattica e i
progetti. Ma lo affligge una grande amarezza: l'ampliamento del suo Museo di
Arles
Henri Ciriani sta conducendo una grande battaglia
per difendere il suo Museo di arte antica ad Arles (1983-1995), considerato una delle architetture
europee più significative del periodo. L'edificio è attualmente in grave pericolo perchè il Consiglio
generale delle Bouches-du-Rhône, in vista delle celebrazioni di Marsiglia
quale Capitale europea della cultura 2013, ha
deciso di ampliarlo senza incaricare nè consultare Ciriani. Si tratta di un
intervento di 800 mq che non tiene conto del delicato equilibrio con il sito
che il progetto ariginario aveva raggiunto con maestria e delicatezza. Il mondo
della professione sta reagendo con lettere
e raccolte internazionali di firme rivolte al ministro della Cultura
francese e alle autorità competenti della Regione appellandosi all'evidente
violazione della proprietà intelletuale e artistica dell'opera. Tuttavia i lavori, avviati nel dicembre 2011, sembrano non volersi
fermare perchè il Consiglio delle Bouches-du-Rhône è in possesso delle
autorizzazioni edificatorie necessarie. Ci auguriamo che la battaglia in corso porti a fermare i lavori e coinvolga
Ciriani nel progetto di ampliamento del museo. Solo in questo modo si potrà
salvare l'integrità e la coerenza architettonica del museo esistente.
MEDAILLE D'OR DE L'ACADÉMIE
Après le soutien très remarqué du Président de l'Académie d'Architecture,
Thierry van de Wyngaert, à la cause d'Henri Ciriani dans le litige qui l'oppose
au Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône à Arles, voici que l'Académie vient de lui décerner
sa médaille d'or dans une cérémonie qui s'est tenue à la Maison de
l'Architecture de Paris le 12 juin 2012.
LES ONZE LIGNES QUI FORMENT LE PROJET
DEUX LIGNES
Les deux bâtiments
linéaires qui convergent sans se toucher, pour accueillir l'entrée principale
du bâtiment, sont en même temps l'ancrage du musée proprement dit, leurs parois
servant de fond au musée: une blanche, la façade arrière de l'aile culturelle,
l'autre rouge, appelée "stoa" par l'architecte, celle de l'aile
scientifique.
TROIS TRIANGLES
Nous distinguons trois
triangles dont un seul l'est réellement, les deux autres étant virtuels; ce
triangle accueille la cour centrale d'où émerge l'escalier monumental menant à
la quatrième façade pour culminer la promenade architecturale amorcée dans le hall d'accueil.
LETTRE DU SYNDICAT DE L'ARCHITECTURE A LA MINISTRE DE LA CULTURE
Madame Aurélie Filippetti
Ministre de la Culture
3 rue de Valois
75001 Paris
Paris le 22 Mai 2012
Madame la Ministre,
Nous nous réjouissons sans
aucun doute de votre nomination au ministère de la culture.
Vous n’ignorez pas que
l’architecture, qui en dépend, s’est vue dissoute dans la direction du
patrimoine et ne semble pas constituer depuis plusieurs années une priorité
pour ce ministère.
Ainsi les organes
représentatifs de la profession, l’Ordre des architectes et les deux syndicats,
l’Unsfa et le Syndicat de l’Architecture, se posent-ils la question de
l’hébergement de l’architecture.
Certes le Président de la
République et le premier ministre n’ont pas opté pour un grand ministère de
l’aménagement prenant en compte l’urbanisme, l’architecture responsable, le
cadre de vie. De même n’apparaît pas l’idée d’une délégation interministérielle
de l’architecture auprès du premier ministre qui pourtant aurait pu répondre
aux dépendances multiples de notre action.
Nous souhaiterions vous
rencontrer pour évoquer avec vous nos espoirs d’une réelle reconnaissance de
l’Architecture comme valeur sociale et culturelle.
Nous pourrions également
évoquer le problème du droit d’auteur à propos de l’affaire du musée de l’Arles
antique d’Henri Ciriani qui émeut architectes et critiques architecturaux du
monde entier ainsi que celui posé par le décret modificatif pris par Benoist
Apparu après l’élection de François Hollande et qui concerne le seuil de
recours à l’architecte.
Nous vous joignons ici le
numéro spécial édité par notre syndicat qui contient les questions que nous
posions aux candidats à l’élection présidentielle.
Dans l’espoir de cette
rencontre,
Nous vous prions de croire,
Madame la ministre, à l’assurance de notre haute considération
Le
Président
Patrick
COLOMBIER
LETTRE DE LA REVUE THE JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE A LA MINISTRE DE LA CULTURE
Madame Aurélie Filippetti
Ministre de la Culture et de la Communication
3 rue de Valois
75001 Paris
vendredi 18 mai 2012
Madame la Ministre,
Musée départemental Arles antique – violation
Quelle cruelle ironie que la construction d'une
intervention illettrée, qui détruit un chef d'œuvre architectural reconnu
universellement, soit hâtivement entreprise pour collaborer à la célébration de
Marseille-Provence comme capitale européenne de la culture 2013.
La forme du Musée départemental Arles Antique, de Henri
Ciriani, fut conçue comme un triangle, son périmètre étant défini par des
panneaux bleus d'une extraordinaire versatilité qui encadrent des émergences
sculpturales et définissent les trois angles: des inventions plastiques d'une
finesse extraordinaire complétant chacune des longues façades. Le Département
des Bouches du Rhône, gardien régional du musée, a déjà démoli l'angle nord
pour faire place à une extension qui enfreint totalement l'intégrité de
l'architecture. L'indignation exprimée universellement devant ce désastre a
été, jusqu'à présent, ignorée par le Président du Conseil Général des
Bouches-du-Rhône, et la destruction continue.
Votre ministère est investi de la responsabilité de
préserver le patrimoine de France au nom de l'Etat, de protéger les objets, les
sites et les bâtiments considérés culturellement précieux à long terme. Parmi
les trésors architecturaux il est indispensable d'inclure le Musée Départemental
Arles Antique, lauréat d'un concours, qui fut acclamé par la critique
internationale lors de son ouverture en 1995. C'est un des Grands Projets
Français et une œuvre majeure de l'architecture moderne.
Ciriani, qui ne fut pas informé de l'extension, encore
moins invité à participer en contradiction avec ses droits intellectuels, a
indiqué qu'il est prêt à collaborer avec le Département des Bouches-du-Rhône
pour intégrer la nouvelle pièce archéologique, une barque draguée du Rhône,
sans nuire à l'intégrité de l'ensemble.
Nous vous exhortons d'abord à arrêter le chantier en
cours, ensuite à nommer Ciriani consultant sur ce projet auprès du Département
des Bouches-du-Rhône.
Le bâtiment mit douze ans à germiner et la barge git
enterrée durant deux mille ans. Aussi, la ruée pour tenir des délais
artificiels n'aura aucune valeur lorsque la postérité aura à juger de
l'héritage. Cette lettre ouverte vous implore de prendre une action décisive
dans l'intérêt du patrimoine de France.
J'écris au nom des membres de la rédaction du The Journal
of Architecture, une publication qui circule dans plus de trente pays;
nous sommes consternés par cette mascarade culturelle.
Je vous prie de croire, Madame la Ministre, à
l'expression de ma plus haute considération
(signé
Allen Cunningham)
Allen Cunningham (Architect, UK and France-Chairman
of the Editotial Board)
John Allan (Architect,
Principal Avanti Architects, London)
Barnabas Calder (Lecturer,
Architectural History, Strathclyde University, Scotland)
David Dunster (Architect,
Professor, University of Liverpool)
Murray Fraser (Professor,
Bartlett School of Architecture, London University)
Peter Gibbs-Kennet (Editor, Gloucestershire, UK)
Christoph Grafe (Associate
Professor of Architectural Design, Delft University of
Technology,
the Netherlands)
Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen (Associate Professor, Yale University School of Architecture,
USA)
Barbara Penner (Professor,
Bartlett School of Architecture, London University)
Charles Rice (Professor,
Head of School, School of Art and Design History
Faculty
of Art, Design and Architecture, Kingston University,
LETTRE DE GEORGES ADAMCZYK, PROFESSEUR A L'UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTREAL, A JEAN-NOEL GUÉRINI
Montréal,
le 15 mai 2012
Monsieur
Jean-Noël Guérini
Président
du CG13
Hôtel
du Département
52,
avenue de St-Just
13004
– Marseille
France
Objet :
Le Musée de l’Arles Antique vandalisé
Cher
monsieur,
Stupeur
et déception sont les deux sentiments qui nous ont assaillis sur le vif de la
découverte de l’action brutale engagée par les services du département pour
modifier, sans aucune prudence et sans aucun respect, une des grandes œuvres du
renouveau de l’architecture moderne en France. Il s’agit, sans aucun doute,
d’une erreur administrative qui sera rapidement corrigée, rétablissant ainsi la
valeur artistique et la valeur de témoignage d’un chef d’œuvre conçu par
l’architecte Henri E. Ciriani, l’un des grands maîtres de l’esprit moderne.
Le
rayonnement des réalisations d’Henri E. Ciriani au Québec, en particulier, a
été ponctué de plusieurs visites mémorables dans nos écoles de design et
d’architecture. Loin du bruit agaçant des célébrités, il a donné une impulsion
formidable au renouveau de la formation des architectes. Il a su nous
transmettre sa rigueur disciplinaire et ses exigences intellectuelles hors du
commun. Son enseignement et sa pédagogie sont de véritables modèles de
référence et une inspiration toujours stimulante dans le monde académique de
l’architecture.
Le
Musée de l’Arles Antique, une œuvre dont l’accomplissement fut long et ardu,
représente donc un exemple patrimonial unique. Il ne s’agit pas seulement
d’expérience, d’histoire ou d’art, mais aussi d’un patrimoine formidable
d’idées, une sorte de grande leçon construite pour les générations futures d’architectes.
En
tant que responsable associé au Laboratoire d’étude architecturale potentielle
à l’École d’architecture de l’Université de Montréal, j’ai souvent recours,
comme mes collègues, aux exemples des grands concours d’architecture lancés en
France durant la période du Président Mitterrand. Loin des lumières de la
capitale, sous le ciel bleu du midi, le concours d’Arles fut un concours
exemplaire répondant à tous les critères d’une conduite démocratique soucieuse
de la place du public et respectueuse des droits d’auteurs.
Une
fois passé l’effroi de cette malveillante initiative, nous pouvons vous assurer
que vous aurez toute notre plus grande considération lorsque, sur vos
instructions éclairées, la restauration du musée sera promptement accomplie.
Je
me permets de joindre ma voix à celles de ceux qui souhaitent qu’Henri E. Ciriani
soit consulté sur les conditions d’une addition, d’un agrandissement ou d’une
annexe visant à accueillir les objets archéologiques récemment découverts et à
faire partager par un plus grand public l’histoire et la beauté de ces lieux dans
la résonnance extraordinaire que l’architecture du Musée a su y instaurer.
Votre magnifique cité d’Arles, que serait-elle sans son héritage architectural?
Avec
mes plus cordiales salutations,
Georges
Adamczyk, professeur d’architecture
Université
de Montréal
fac-simile :
DO.CO.MO.MO. INTERNATIONAL PROTESTE A SON TOUR
DANS UNE LETTRE A JEAN-NOEL GUERINI
Barcelona, May 11,2012
Monsieur le Président,
Docomomo is the international organization for the documentation and conservation of buildings of the Modern Movement. The organization, that is considered internationally to be the guardian of 20th century architecture, has active working parties in 58 countries. Your Ministry kindly funded our International Secretariat from 2002-2008.
Le Département des Bouches du Rhône is the guardian, on behalf of the French Nation, of Le Musée Départemental Arles Antique won in competition and opened in 1995 to international critical acclaim. It is one of France's Grands Projets a major work of French modern architecture by Henri Ciriani.
The published images of the proposed extension cause grave concern on two counts. First, the form taken by the proposal violates the integrity of Ciriani's architecture which was conceived as a triangle, its perimeter defined by blue planes of extraordinary versatility which frame sculptural outcrops and define the three apexes, plastic inventions of considerable finesse, terminating each of the extensive facades. Second, it transpires Ciriani was not informed of the extension let alone invited to cooperate, thereby contravening his intellectual rights.
The demolition of one apex, to make way for an illiterate intervention into this major cultural artefact is already a disaster. There should be an immediate halt to current works and the site secured.
Ciriani has indicated his willingness to cooperate with Le Département des Bouches du Rhône on how the new exhibit, a Roman barge dredged from the Rhône, might be incorporated without challenge to the integrity of the whole, and it follows that he should be appointed as consultant without delay.
It is essential for all parties to accept that the over-riding responsibility is to ensure the building, together with whatever extension is realized, displays for posterity the cultural standards established by the original project. The proper Statement of Significance should be prepared to inform and assess any new interventions.
The building took fifteen years to germinate and the barge has waited two thousand years, so any rush to meet artificial deadlines will not figure in posterity's judgment of the inheritance.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Ana Tostoes, Chair of Docomomo International
Prof. Hubert-Jan Henkel, Honorary President of Docomomo
copie: Frédéric MITTERRAND, Ministre de la Culture et de la communication
fac simile :
TRADUCTION :
Barcelona, May 11,2012
Monsieur le Président,
Docomomo is the international organization for the documentation and conservation of buildings of the Modern Movement. The organization, that is considered internationally to be the guardian of 20th century architecture, has active working parties in 58 countries. Your Ministry kindly funded our International Secretariat from 2002-2008.
Le Département des Bouches du Rhône is the guardian, on behalf of the French Nation, of Le Musée Départemental Arles Antique won in competition and opened in 1995 to international critical acclaim. It is one of France's Grands Projets a major work of French modern architecture by Henri Ciriani.
The published images of the proposed extension cause grave concern on two counts. First, the form taken by the proposal violates the integrity of Ciriani's architecture which was conceived as a triangle, its perimeter defined by blue planes of extraordinary versatility which frame sculptural outcrops and define the three apexes, plastic inventions of considerable finesse, terminating each of the extensive facades. Second, it transpires Ciriani was not informed of the extension let alone invited to cooperate, thereby contravening his intellectual rights.
The demolition of one apex, to make way for an illiterate intervention into this major cultural artefact is already a disaster. There should be an immediate halt to current works and the site secured.
Ciriani has indicated his willingness to cooperate with Le Département des Bouches du Rhône on how the new exhibit, a Roman barge dredged from the Rhône, might be incorporated without challenge to the integrity of the whole, and it follows that he should be appointed as consultant without delay.
It is essential for all parties to accept that the over-riding responsibility is to ensure the building, together with whatever extension is realized, displays for posterity the cultural standards established by the original project. The proper Statement of Significance should be prepared to inform and assess any new interventions.
The building took fifteen years to germinate and the barge has waited two thousand years, so any rush to meet artificial deadlines will not figure in posterity's judgment of the inheritance.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Ana Tostoes, Chair of Docomomo International
Prof. Hubert-Jan Henkel, Honorary President of Docomomo
copie: Frédéric MITTERRAND, Ministre de la Culture et de la communication
fac simile :
TRADUCTION :
do.co,mo.mo_
Groupe de travail pour la DOcumentation et la
COnservation
des bâtiments du MOuvement MOderne,
de leur site et de leur ensemble urbain
Monsieur Jean Noël GUERINI
Président du Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône
52 avenue Saint Just
13256 Marseille Cedex 20
Barcelone, 11 mai 2012
Monsieur le Président,
Docomomo est une organisation internationale pour la
documentation et la conservation des bâtiments du mouvement moderne.
L'organisation, qui est considérée internationalement comme le gardien de
l'architecture du XXème siècle, comporte des groupes de travail actifs dans 58
pays. Votre Ministère a gracieusement subventionné le secrétariat international
de 2002 à 2008.
Le Département des Bouches-du-Rhône est le gardien, au
nom de la nation française, du Musée départemental Arles Antique dont le projet
gagna un concours et le bâtiment fut acclamé par la critique internationale
lors de l'inauguration en 1995. C'est un des Grands Projets Français et une
œuvre majeure de l'architecture moderne par Henri Ciriani.
Les images publiées de l'extension proposée sont
inquiétantes à plus d'un titre. Premièrement, la forme que prend la proposition
viole l'intégrité de l'architecture de Ciriani qui fut conçue comme un
triangle, son périmètre étant défini par des panneaux bleus d'une versatilité
extraordinaire qui encadrent des émergences sculpturales et définissent les
trois angles, des inventions plastiques d'une finesse considérable, qui
terminent chacune des longues façades. Deuxièmement, on constate que Ciriani ne
fut pas informé de l'extension, encore moins invité à coopérer, en
contradiction avec ses droits intellectuels.
La démolition d'un angle pour faire place à une
intervention illettrée dans cet objet culturel majeur est en soi un désastre.
Il faudrait arrêter le chantier immédiatement et sécuriser le site.
Ciriani a indiqué sa volonté de coopérer avec le
Département des Bouches-du-Rhône pour intégrer à la collection actuelle la
nouvelle pièce d'exposition, une barque romaine trouvée dans le Rhône, sans
nuire à l'intégrité de l'ensemble et, il s'ensuit qu'il devrait être nommé
consultant sans plus tarder.
Il est essentiel pour l'ensemble des parties concernées
d'accepter que la responsabilité primordiale est de s'assurer que le bâtiment,
avec quelque extension qui puisse être construite, présente à la postérité le
niveau culturel établi par le projet original. Un cahier des charges devrait
être établi qui informe et évalue toute intervention nouvelle.
Le bâtiment a pris quinze ans à germer et la barque a
attendu deux mille ans; par conséquent il n'est pas urgent de tenir des délais artificiels
qui ne n'auront plus de valeur lorsque la postérité aura à juger de l'héritage.
Sincèrement vôtres
Prof. Ana Tostoes, Présidente de Docomomo International
Prof. Hubert-Jan Henkel, Président Honoraire de Docomomo
Copie: Frédéric MITTERRAND, Ministre de la Culture et de
la communication
(traduit par M.Espejo)
WILLIAM CURTIS PROTESTE DANS L'ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW D'AVRIL-MAI 2012
VANDALISM IN THE LAND OF PATRIMOINE
THE WRECKING OF CIRIANI’S MUSEE DE L’ARLES ANTIQUE
THE WRECKING OF CIRIANI’S MUSEE DE L’ARLES ANTIQUE
Copyright: William J. R.
Curtis, April 2012
Architectural Review, April-May 2012 , 'OUTRAGE' SECTION
The Ministry of Culture in France makes a big deal out of the
notion of ‘patrimoine’. The word implies a collective heritage handed on from
generation to generation and applies to many other things than just
architecture. It is a concept which has vaguely political overtones to do with
the very idea of a republic – res publica,
the public thing – and it implies the role of the state in the protection of
objects, sites and places considered to be in the general interest of society in
the long term (‘ biens publics’). Of course many of these sites and buildings
are’ inherited’ forcibly from previous aristocratic, royal and religious
properties: châteaux, monasteries, churches, gardens, palaces. In recent years
the concept of ‘patrimony’ has been extended internationally under the aegis of
UNESCO to apply to a more universal framework: the patrimony of humanity. This now includes sites of great
natural beauty all over the world and even, bizarrely, ‘the Gastronomic Meal of
the French’ (whatever that is!!).This last one is quite hilarious especially at
a time when more and more French people are in reality indulging in ‘le fast
food’.
The architectural patrimony of France requires
a massive upkeep, and the sums of money which the state invests in restoration
and maintenance are impressive. Beyond a duty to the past there is no doubt a
strong appreciation of the income derived from tourism and from the
attractiveness of a country combining great natural beauty with an overall
commitment to ‘la culture’. By comparison Britain is grubby and money grabbing:
what a horrendous experience it is to try to visit Westminster Abbey or St
Paul’s and be presented with tickets which for an entire family may lead to a
total of more than fifty pounds. Roughly a decade ago I went back to the
cathedral of my childhood, Canterbury ,
and in addition to being harassed for money at the entrance, was confronted
inside by an official panel stating that Christianity more and more resembles
running a business!! The privatisation of public space and the reduction of the
sacred to mercantilism go hand in hand in declining Britain . It is time to chase the
moneylenders from the temple. The state, instead of wasting lives and millions
on aimless wars, should look after the family silver.
In France
the architectural patrimony is overseen in part by the Monuments Historiques
and their related architects, craftsmen and consultants including art
historians and scientists. Among these custodians of the past are the
Compagnons who are trained in traditional skills of masonry, carpentry and
handicraft. The restoration record is largely positive where old,
pre-industrial buildings such as châteaux and cathedrals are concerned but it
is less glorious when it comes to twentieth century buildings made out of
concrete and steel. There is nowhere near the same scholarly rigour and level
of expertise. The Monastery of La Tourette by Le Corbusier is a case in point.
It has been under restoration for four years and there have been grave errors,
especially in the ‘musical glazed panels’ or ‘ondulatoires’ originally designed
with the input of Xenakis, the engineer and avant-garde musician. The subtle rhythms between the concrete struts
(laid out according to the Modulor) have been badly disturbed by replacing
slender brass fillets with gross aluminium and plastic pieces which utterly
destroy the magic of the original glazed membranes. It is as if one were to
change the thickness of the black lines in a Mondrian or the notes in a Bach
fugue. I raised the roof about this in a letter with the title ‘Tutta Quella
Musica’ (a reference to Leon Battista Alberti and divine proportions) and the
work was stopped while inspections were made. Matters were improved somewhat in
similar windows in the inner court. But the west façade has been sacked and
will have to be redone.
Where the smallest Romanesque chapel in the middle of
the Massif Central is concerned, the Ministry
of Culture, its Direction de l’Architecture and the Monuments Historiques are
vigilant concerning the possible intrusiveness of nearby construction. But they
are much less so where twentieth century masterpieces are concerned. This was
well demonstrated with the case of Le Corbusier’s Chapel at Ronchamp and the
problematic project by Renzo Piano for a convent and entrance pavilion nearby.
Piano’s original scheme was obviously far too close to the Chapel and in
conflict with it in form and scale, but it was only after much pressure was
exerted that the scheme was moved slightly further away (not enough). But the
Ministry of Culture was not on the side of the angels in this dispute and
turned a blind eye, or maybe has eyes which do not see? My own approach to this
problem was to avoid the petitions for and against (which were largely caricatural),
to publish a balanced piece in the Architectural Review (October 2008) and to
write directly to the architects requesting politely that they quieten down
their jagged roof forms and make the buildings as invisible as possible. Only
now with the landscaping going in can one properly assess the result (the
subject of a future critical article in AR).
The Musée de l’Arles Antique was designed by Henri
Ciriani thirty years ago to house Roman statues, mosaics and archeological
fragments, and to serve as an introduction to the rich ancient history of the
region. Ciriani deliberately avoided direct reference to Antique architectural
figures such as the nearby Roman arena and selected a triangular form to
address the different directions of the site next to the river Rhone . He orchestrated a free plan with ramps, pilotis
and skylights, and clad the exteriors in bright blue glass panels. He brought
the triangle alive by extending abstract planes into the surroundings,
overlapping them at the corners in a way which created voids and incited a
pinwheel action. The Musée took a long time to complete but in retrospect
clearly belongs to a period when there was maximum support for modern
architecture in France :
the early Mitterand years which also saw the launching of the Parisian Grands
Projets. Ciriani’s work was rightly shortlisted for the European Mies van der
Rohe Prize in 1996. I recall
visiting the completed building in the summer of 1995 and writing a short piece
about it for Progressive Architecture. Ciriani’s Corbusian dogmatisms can be
irritating but here was a building of lucid spaces and well handled light which
merited respect and which I even published in the third edition of Modern
Architecture Since 1900 (1996).
But respect is exactly what the Musée and its
architect now lack. The catastrophic additions and demolitions underway have
been carried out without the slightest consultation with Ciriani – a slap in
the face anywhere, but a double insult and scandal in a country where
architectural creations are supposed to be protected by copyright and ‘droits
d’auteur’. By demolishing part of the façade at the northern corner and cutting
into the triangle, the architects of the Département (who seem to remain
anonymous) have done more than ruin a single piece of the scheme, they have
totally disrupted the overall form and its action in space. Imagine slicing off
a corner of the Villa Savoye for example, or smashing up a wing of the Petit
Trianon. The Sarkozy influenced media rather enjoy painting the picture of the
Midi, Marseilles
and the Bouches du Rhône as a land of gangsters and dealers, but they forgot to
mention that the land of banditism now extends into architecture. In the era of
bling bling vast sums are spent placing gold leaf on the gates at Versailles and on
exhibiting art market kitsch in the gardens there, but meanwhile modern
buildings are being ruined by clumsy official interventions in the provinces.
Wake up Frédéric Mitterand, Monsieur le Ministre de la Culture, the modern
architectural culture supported by your uncle Président Mittérand is under
threat and you need to do something about it! Those sacred principles of
patrimoine should apply to modern and ancient alike.
LETTRE DE LA REVUE UME A JEAN-NOEL GUERINI
ume
EDITORS
HAIG BECK AND JACKIE COOPER
M Jean-Noel Guerini
President du CG13
Hotel du Departement
52 Avenue de St Just
13004 Marseille
France
30.4.2012
Cher Monsieur,
OBJ: Musée departmental Arles Antique
We are international architectural editors and publishers with forty years of experience. We have published the works of Henri Ciriani repeatedly over the decades because we consider him one of the world’s finest modernist architects.
Ciriani is not only a great architect. As an architectural theorist and pedagogue, he enjoys an outstanding reputation.
It has been a huge shock to discover that Ciriani’s museum at Arles has been vandalised by authorities that evidently know of neither the architect’s international significance nor of the value of the built treasure they are the custodians of.
We write in support of the museum, of architecture, and of the patrimonie of France, and request that additions and alterations to the building be undertaken only with the full cooperation of the original architect.
Also we request that where it has suffered damage caused through ignorance of the inviolability of its architectural integrity, the building be restored to the original design.
It would be an appalling and crass blemish on Arles to allow this magnificent architectural work to be disfigured through unsympathetic municipal action. Cities all over the world vie to build museums as beautiful and notable as Ciriani’s contribution to Arles.
As Australians, we draw a comparison with the Sydney Opera House of Joern Utzon: it would be unthinkable to tamper wantonly with the building.
It is unthinkable to tamper with the Arles museum without the advice and consent of M Ciriani.
Yours faithfully
Haig Beck and Jackie Cooper
ume
PO BOX 190 POINT LOOKOUT
QUEENSLAND 4183 AUSTRALIA
TEL/FAX +617 3409 8944
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ume@umemagazine.com
LETTRE DE MAURO GALANTINO AU MINISTRE DE LA CULTURE
Gentile sig. Ministro,
ho dedicato un po' del mio tempo allo studio dell'opera di Henri Ciriani e
ho pubblicato l'ultimo, completo, studio sulla sua opera, edizioni Skira,
tradotto in francese e in inglese.
Spero ne abbia Lei una copia.
L'opera di Ciriani e' fondamentale in Europa, perche' colloca, nel momento
centrale del dibattito sulla Modernita'sviluppatosi alla fine degli anni
settanta, l'apporto concreto che solo le opere danno alle discussioni. In
quel momento preciso le tendenze postmoderne predicavano che solo un
abbandono della tradizione moderna fosse capace di ridisegnare la qualita'
urbana.
Ciriani, in buona compagnia di altri architetti europei, ha realizzato e
disegnato opere che hanno contribuito alla comprensione di quanto il
metodo e lo spirito della modernita' sia ancora capace di interpretare e
modificare il nostro paesaggio.
Senza il suo apporto con
Siza, Moneo, Gregotti, Piano e molti altri, la
grande fioritura architettonica del nostro futuro non esisterebbe.
Non parlo del recente passato, parlo proprio, del futuro.
Cosi' uno dei capisaldi di questo lavoro, il museo archeologico di Arles,
non puo' subire l'affronto di una manomissione, con demolizione, come
apprendo con stupore.
Non e' in gioco solo il valore assoluto di un'opera, e' a rischio
l'immagine della Francia, che per noi europei, resta il punto tra i
piu'alti di uno Stato che cura la propria architettura contemporanea come
bene culturale.
Le rivolgo un appello accorato a che Lei intervenga personalmente per il
buon nome della Francia a fermare questo scempio.
Distinti saluti.
Mauro Galantino architetto, professore facolta di architettura di Venezia
e Milano
TRADUCTION
Monsieur le Ministre,
J'ai dédié quelque
temps à l'étude de l'œuvre d'Henri Ciriani et j'ai publié la dernière étude
complète sur son œuvre aux Editions Skira traduite en français et en anglais.
J'espère que vous en avez une copie.
L'œuvre de Ciriani
est fondamentale en Europe car, au moment central du débat sur la Modernité qui
se tenait vers la fin des années soixante-dix, il fournit l'apport concret que
seules les œuvres peuvent procurer aux discussions. A ce moment-là les
tendances post-modernes maintenaient qu'il n'était possible de concevoir la
qualité urbaine qu'en abandonnant la tradition moderne.
Ciriani, bien
accompagné d'autres architectes européens, a conçu et réalisé des œuvres qui
ont contribué à faire comprendre que la méthode et l'esprit de la modernité
étaient bien capables encore d'interpréter et de modifier notre paysage.
Sans son apport,
avec Siza, Moneo, Gregotti, Piano et beaucoup d'autres, le grand épanouissement
architectural de notre futur n'existerait pas.
Aussi, l'un des
fondements de ce travail, le musée archéologique d'Arles, ne peut subir
l'affront d'une telle violation, démolition comprise, comme je l'apprends avec
stupeur.
Ce n'est pas
uniquement la valeur absolue d'une œuvre qui est en jeu, c'est un risque pour
l'image de la France, laquelle pour nous européens demeure un Etat parmi les
plus éminents à traiter l'architecture contemporaine comme un bien culturel.
Je vous adresse un
appel affligé pour que vous interveniez personnellement, pour le bon nom de la
France, afin d'arrêter cette horreur.
Salutations
distinguées.
Mauro Galantino,
architecte, professeur aux Facultés d'architecture de Venise et de Milan
(traduit par M.Espejo)
THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW ONLINE 24/4/12
1994 FEBRUARY: HENRI CIRIANI'S ANTIQUITIES MUSEM, ARLES, FRANCE
24 April 2012 | By Raymund Ryan
Henri Ciriani’s new antiquities museum at Arles in southern France boldly reinterprets and extends the spatial disciplines of the Corbusian Modernist inheritance in a sensually stunning interaction of light, form and colour
As evidence of this serious and ongoing experimentation, Ciriani’s realisation of a series of housing projects in the New Towns around Paris has been supplemented - first by the Historial de la Grande Guerre at Peronne (AR January 1993) and now by his Museum and Research Institute of Ancient Provence at Arles in southern France.

Part of the dazzling blue glass facade
Arles had in fact been on the Franco-Peruvian’s drawing boards for some years before Peronne; the original red-and-blue sketches date back to 1983. The building is now complete but awaits the installation of its Gallo-Roman contents - busts, sarcophagi and urns. It lies on the perimeter of the scenically organic town as a blue-clad horizontal plinth colon ising a triangular site bounded by three elements: the river Rhône, the locks of a canal leading from Van Gogh’s famous drawbridge and a Roman circus that has yet to be excavated. In response, the museum is itself an equilateral triangle, with sides of linear shards which erode and do not touch so that the initial rigorous geometric imposition is tuned by and adapted to its context and function. This is what separates Ciriani’s work from the many aspirational grands projets of recent years: a benefiting from process which is neither simplistically sculptural nor casually empirical, but the generation of architecture from a full spectrum of ideas.

Detail of the facade, made from blue glass plates set slightly apart from the concrete walls and pinned in place by flat headed studs
The great triangle at Arles, an imprint of the most basic form, is not closed or sealed in some naïve pursuit of triangular shape per se but is allowed to breathe. The project reads as reinforcement to the suburban edge of town, but the triangulation also results from Ciriani’s functional organisation ofthree blocks of museological programme around a surprising inner court.
Detached from the urban centre by an intermediary fire station, congress hall and confusing sens unique, the Museum slips into the view of motorists approaching from Nîmes as a blue-trimmed deck amid the trees. Whereas the pedestrian approach is across land which has clearly yet to be developed, the prospect of the building from the highway bridge across the Rhône positions it as some new sort of gateway to the city, a fragment of rampart whose terrace is enlivened by small kiosk-like projections.

The cool, creamy foyer
These abstract pavilions also animate the entrance facade, rising from the ground as a comfortably languid ramp or punching through the blue-glazed vertical plane as twentieth-century oriels. This facade, to the east and towards the town, is a horizontal extrusion across the site, screening and framing the occasionally legible contents within. The triangularity of the museum is neither solid nor stagnant. The three great walls assume their primary importance as individual boundaries marking a triangular precinct and the resolution of corners is never fetishistic. The wall along the river slips forward to delimit a terrace offering views onto a sylvan expanse of the Rhône. The mask-like entrance facade slides away towards the canal, gradually reducing to a free frame within which the creamy stone foyer and pistachio tiled stair tower are allowed play. It is from this apex, with its pietra serena landscape of benches and reception, that the building is penetrated.

The wall of the main service wing registers as a deep pink plane
The corner is eroded and folded functionally so that the plasticity of skin and interior is not simply a wilful geometry. To the canal-side lies a block of laboratory and mechanical rooms with an easily accessible lift; towards the circus, the long ramp rises indoors between generous bureaucratic spaces and the contiguous blade of blue glass. Between, and central to this entrance node, a desk for security and information curves forward as the eye travels past into the heart of Ciriani’s project. There a cool inner exhibition space unfurls about the open court and spreads to fill that section of the triangle overlooking the river. Light folds down from the great waffle roof to illuminate the displays with a minimum of disruptive fittings. The exhibitions farthest from the entrance are gently subdivided by finial walls punctuating the horizontal panorama of the Rhône beyond. Le Corbusier memorably defined architecture as volumes masterfully playing in light and at Arles, Ciriani’s architecture attains that elusive quality.

Behind the blue skin
The plentiful light of the Midi filters through the ceiling and in from the glazed - and pooled triangular court to illuminate a spatial fluidity. The grid of circular white columns recalls the trunks of gnarled trees lining the canal and windows to the exterior world frame picturesque individual views. In the main hall, another ramp mounts against the deep rose wall of the service wing into a tall slot. Clerestory light washes off this long red plane to reflect off surfaces opposite and interact with the pristine void of the court. The triangular form is intelligibly concise, yet allows for complexity along its periphery.

Axonometric
Threaded through the museum is the pleasure of the promenade architecturale. Whether looping across the main space and up its ramp for viewing inlaid mosaic floors, or leading immediately from the foyer to first floor café and temporary gallery, the pedestrian experience is one of discovery and even joy. The circuit of visitation pops out under the small flying canopies of the roof terrace and angles up through the observatory-like stairwell from the court. Along the route, from the plastic activity of the foyer with its greyer stone (dark on reveals, pale on the floor) to the differentiated handrail details, issues of construction are resolved with appropriate care. The stone and concrete base becomes a calm plinth on which the curators can act. And then there is that blue.

Cross sections through the building
Ciriani is an established colourist and the palette at Arles includes not only blue but a family of terracottas and olive greens for the service wing, purple brown and orange red by the elevator, and shiny inlays of vivid primaries along the river facade. The blue glass is however unforgettable and iconographic. The sharp vitreous elevations are made by plates of Saint Gobain ‘Emalit’ blue, set slightly apart off concrete walls and pinned in place by flat-headed studs so as to be shadowed in slanting sunlight. Brilliant as the skies above, Ciriani’s blue covers his structure to intensify an already unmistakeable architecture.
FACT FILE
Architect: Henri Ciriani
Photography: Jean Marie Monthiers
Photography: Jean Marie Monthiers
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