Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre
The cultural centre on the small French owned island of New Caledonia named the "Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre" is one of the jewels in the crown of renowned architect Renzo Piano, whose other works include the Shard, the Nemo Science Centre in Amsterdam and the New York Times Building in New York.
The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre complex is built upon a 250 metre ridge on the island 5 miles northeast of the old city where originally the centre was intended to be built for its cultural significance. The arrangement of the work consists of 10 towering "cases" grouped in 3 sets designed to resemble village clusters and styled after traditional hut pavilions. The largest "case" is 28 metres tall and demands attention in its more natural surroundings.
The centre itself is not a folly. It was built during a tumultuous time for the island when they were deciding their identity with the independent status of the indigenous Kanak tribe from French rule. The buildings purpose was to house and uphold the culture, linguistic and artistic heritage of the Kanak people.
What drew me to the building is the purely decorative "cases", designed to reflect the local environment and tribal homes, which can be seen in the picture below.
The centre is from a distance, 3 groups of Kanak huts, with the largest representing the great hut of the tribal chiefs. They are connected by walkways and landscaped spaces, mainly outdoors though there are indoor exhibition spaces underneath the structures.
This work of architecture has been called "A perfected masterpiece and a deeply impressive, earth-bound example of a new interpretation of modernism."
