10 minute read
FRANÇOIS REINERT
July will mark 10 years since the inauguration of Luxembourg’s Musée Dräi Eechelen. The delegated director of the museum, François Reinert, unveils plans linked to the occasion and recalls some key achievements.
What key milestones would you like to underscore since the museum opened to the public in 2012? Our activities have evolved over the last 10 years, as shown by unique exhibitions that demonstrate our national heritage and showcase the evolution of Luxembourg’s identity. The multimedia formats in exhibitions have also advanced over this period.
A monumental event that brought great exposure internationally--but also among resident communities--was the 2017 visit of the Duchess of Cambridge [Kate Middleton] and the exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of London.
I see our key milestones in terms of each exhibition, which is always evolving. Each exhibition attracts different groups and distinguished guests based on the topics.
At 10 years, we have stepped into adolescence and reached a point where we have to take stock of what was good or not so good to see how we evolve further.
What will be the focus of the next temporary exhibition? The exhibition will show a decade of the museum’s collections. What we were able to acquire, what was offered to us and what we bought in the past 10 years.
Often, before each exposition, we collect some rare historical pieces people show to us, and what we will do as part of this exhibition is to display the most interesting pieces. We have made a choice and will present them in more detail. Some of the items are from ancient families that have migrated, and the pieces have artistic and/or historical value. They represent pieces of a bigger story, and if you consider the different elements, you will have a global understanding about these people communicated via the pieces.
The exhibition will last until March 2023. We will then see if we should prolong it. Past exhibitions have mostly been thematic, but this time we will focus on the object as a whole and say as much as possible about the object in detail.
Did free entry since 2019 help boost the visitation rate? Any serious implications for the museum’s revenue? We’ve been through quite a difficult period with Covid, where the numbers for all the museums in Luxembourg dropped a lot, also because there weren’t school visits. I’m not telling a big secret if I say that our numbers went down to about a third of visitors [as a result]. One of the measures was to introduce free entry for the permanent exhibition since 2019. Also, thanks to the culture minister [Sam Tanson], the last temporary exhibition was free to the public to facilitate access to the museum during Covid. I think we lose more if we have high entrance fees that stop people from coming because our common goal is to show people what we have and not to deter them. But we must also pay attention to the collective of museums because if one is free and the others aren’t, it’s not ideal. To come back to our figures, even during Covid, we saw four times as many visitors for the Légionnaires exhibition because of the theme but also largely due to the fact that it was free.
Do virtual tours subtract from the museum experience?
It is an additional means... It doesn’t replace the actual visit, but it can help prepare for the visit.
What other surprises does M3E envisage to commemorate the 10th anniversary?
We are working on a nice programme for the exhibition with musical performances.
The main surprise will be the new things we will be exhibiting, a sort of re-enactment [for guests]. There will be conferences and certainly other surprises.
François Reinert led the planning team prior to the opening of M3E.
general construction company
Architecture
A half-century of architecture as a discipline
Sponsored content by JEAN PETIT ARCHITECTES
Fifty years is a long time to be in business, but for Jean Petit Architectes, it is the perfect vantage point to appreciate the past and look to the future. Meet the three directors of the firm at their Espen residential project in Moutfort to discuss their dedication to architecture.
“Architecture is a fundamentally optimistic profession, and there is nothing destructive about it,” says Emmanuel Petit. “It is only constructive.” This sense of awe and respect for the long-lasting impact of the discipline is at the core of Jean Petit Architectes. Emmanuel’s father, Jean, opened his office in Luxembourg 50 years ago by building the country’s first post- modernist villa. Since then, the firm, which now comprises 20 staff, has worked on 450 projects in every sector, ranging from private and public to institutional and ecclesiastical. Among them are notable buildings such as the Chamber of Commerce in Kirchberg, the Dexia Tower in Belval and the third tower of the European Court of Justice, in collaboration with a constellation of momentary associations.
Emmanuel is one of the three administrators along with his wife Ralitza, whom he met while they were both pursuing advanced degrees in architecture at Princeton, and Sylvain Guffanti, who has been with the firm for decades and was greatly inspired by Jean. Speaking with them, you quickly get a sense of how passionate they are about their work and architecture as a whole.
Through the office window, one enjoys a view of the office’s most recent work – a row of just finished instantly memorable houses, brightly colourful with vertical stripes. The vibrant habitations stand out from the green countryside, yet perfectly complement it. Nearly all the residents have moved to Luxembourg from far away, some as far away as the US and India, Emmanuel says. For him, this diversity represents promises and
Sylvain Guffanti
Administrator Jean Petit Architectes
Ralitza Petit
Administrator Jean Petit Architectes
opportunities, to the country as well as to his profession.
“We enjoy the fact that Luxembourg has been becoming more and more international. We decidedly gear our architecture to a cosmopolitan context and the international portability of the architectural image,” says Emmanuel Petit, administrator of Jean Petit Architectes.
The firm’s enthusiasm for the future is matched by an equally intense seriousness about the discipline of architecture, one that Emmanuel, Ralitza, and Sylvain deeply share. ‘Architecture is our profession,’ explains Ralitza. “We don’t stop thinking about it at a certain time of the day. It’s something that simultaneously consumes and energises you.”After discussing architecture with them, one realises that they embody the ideal qualities of an architect: a deep understanding of principles, a focus
1909-1941
Nicolas Petit serves as chief architect of Luxembourg City, designing many well-known buildings, churches and schools, including the church of Limpertsberg and the Lycée Robert Schuman.
1972
Nicolas’s grandson, architect Jean Petit, opens his office with the association of Mr Jung.
1973
Creation of the first post-modern villa in Luxembourg located on a complex diagonal geometry. A yellow house that still stands in Moutfort.
1985
The office is renamed Jean Petit Architectes. It co-designs the BIL headquarters from 1980 to 1990.
2000
Jean Petit Architectes begins to take on major projects, including the Chamber of Commerce in Kirchberg, the Dexia Tower in Belval and the third tower of the European Court of Justice.
Eva Krins (Maison Moderne) Photo
Emmanuel Petit
Administrator Jean Petit Architectes on every detail and a singular devotion to each project.
“Architecture is a real discipline with a history, theories and ideologies. Constructing buildings is only one of several activities architects engage in. They also write, teach and curate,” says Emmanuel Petit.
The family’s devotion to architecture predates even Jean. From 1909 to 1941, Emmanuel’s great-grandfather, Nicolas Petit, was the chief architect of Luxembourg City, responsible for some of its most familiar buildings, including the church of Limpertsberg, the Lycée Robert Schuman and the Halle Victor Hugo. This history continues to remind the staff of the long-lasting impact they and each architect have on society.
“Architects have an enormous importance on the way people live. If we don’t do our job well, we create malaise, disorder, even chaos. When we do our work well, we create happiness, harmony, and a desire to be in the space we have made,” says Sylvain Guffanti.
Such a philosophy is increasingly rare, it seems, as more new developments are filled with impersonal white and grey cubes that look the same and show no attention to detail – and often have little input from an architect.
2012
The firm transforms into a public limited company (SA), allowing for the management of larger projects.
2014 Late 2010s
The team fully adopts 3D design and Building Information Modelling (BIM). Digital modelling enters aesthetic research at JPA. Jean Petit Architectes designs Espen, a new neighbourhood now under development in Moutfort, consisting of 40 houses and 50 apartments.
2022
The firm starts the construction of its new Limpertsberg office which shows the high standards and quality it offers to clients. The structure will emphasise openness, light and transparency. Sylvain Guffanti, Ralitza Petit and Emmanuel Petit, administrators of Jean Petit Architectes.
Despite this trend, a handful of firms like Jean Petit Architectes will continue devoting themselves to the discipline and striving for exceptionalism, making living and being in their constructions that much more special.
Indeed, even if they focus on one project at a time, business is good for the company. In 2012, they turned their office into a public limited company (société anonyme) to allow for the management of more largescale projects – a tremendous relief to those for whom great architecture offers more than a precious respite but is a way to see, feel and live.
To find out more about the firm’s projects, go to www.jean-petit.lu
