A weekend of architecture and heritage
Sarkozy talks to a group of 14 prize-winning architects
Paris was in full cultural motion this weekend as it celebrated the opening of the world’s largest architectural museum as well as les journées européennes du patrimoine, or the European heritage weekend. All of France’s public buildings including the Elysée Palace and the National Assembly were open to the public free of charge. For this one day of the year, the wonderful buildings of France’s Fifth Republic no longer reserve access for a precious elite. Instead, public buildings became just that – public.
As the queues mounted in the beautiful sunshine, Nicholas Sarkozy, in perpetual motion, was taking on the timely role of culture minister when officially opening the City of Architecture and Heritage. The waves of cultural drama could be felt pulsating through the city’s veins.
La Cite de l'architecture et du patrimoine
In recent times, Sarkozy has expressed his wish to bring about a “new ambition” and a “new breath of fresh air” on the nations architectural front. For Nicholas Sarkozy, “architectural development is at the heart of our political choice and duty”, playing a decisive role in how we interact with our surroundings.
The opening of this enormous museum is less about stamping his presidency with an emblematic mark – as in the case of Francois Mitterrand who inaugurated the pyramid outside the Louvre and Jacques Chirac, whose departure from a twelve year presidency was left with a museum dedicated to African, Asia, Oceanic and pre-Columbian art – and more about making culture more accessible to the masses.
As Sarkozy’s house opened its doors to the nation, the City of Architecture and Heritage was preparing itself for the presence of 14 prize-winning architects all of whom acknowledged the importance of “uniting the architectural history of the past with the one that is unfolding today.”
Sarkozy, after his troublesome confrontations in the French suburbs during his time as Interior Minister, has no doubt seen the stark realities of areas whose architectural wisdom is non-existent.
These few days of architecture and heritage, along with many a proposal to renovate the decaying areas of suburbia from the French culture minister, is hopefully a sign of French architectural policy adopting a more social role.
The recent construction of a fabulous footbridge which crosses the Seine towards the National Library as well as an all-new and highly controversial Citroen showroom on the Champs Elysées is proof of Paris’ ever evolving architectural spirit.
Sarkozy has an interesting point in his view that architectural policy should avoid traditionalist objectives and spread its influence on the nation as a whole.
New Citroen showroom on the Champs Elysees
