Category: Seeing

Rotterdam is a city of architecture in its aesthetic excellence beyond practical feasibility; the Markthal, a combination of multi-family housing and covered market built in 2014 in the center of the city, would be a good example to observe a Dutch shift in architectural ideas. I went there to buy fresh stroopwafel, a Dutch classic, and the building was amazing. In fact, its arch-wise structure, which resembles a kind of wagon cover in western movies, comes from two housing entities sharing a roof; the gable ends of the housing entities create the entrances of the walk-through market. It looks simple, but the architect overcame several technical challenges, such as:

• The glass walls of the entrances are composed by 148,5 cm x 148,5 cm windows hung around the steel cable structure similar to a tennis racket. It is the largest glass-window cable structure in Europe with 26 vertical and 22 horizontal cables allowing 70 cm of deflection for extreme wind loads. 
• The inner wall painting is created by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam. The original painting, a 1.47 terabytes digital file rendered by Pixar software, is separated and printed on 4,000 perforated aluminum panels.
• The apartments have windows to the market. Mostly kitchens, dining rooms and storage are positioned on the market side, and the sound and smell proof triple-layer glasses are used for the windows.

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OPENED IN 1977 and once closed in 1997 for renovations, the Pompidou Center will be closed again in 2023 for 3 years. Soon after the first re-opening, Renzo Piano, a co-architect of the building with Richard Rogers suggested in an interview with the New York Times in 2000 that the center close every 25 years so its function could be rethought*; reportedly a half joke, somehow it goes as he said. For the second re-opening in 2027, the renovation includes asbestos removal, air treatment, fire stability, a structural audit, and overhaul of the electrical and heating systems aiming at a 40% reduction of the energy use.

OUVERT EN 1977 et fermé première fois en 1997 pour rénovation, le Centre Pompidou sera à nouveau fermé en 2023 pour 3 ans. Peu après la première réouverture, Renzo Piano, co-architecte du bâtiment avec Richard Rogers, a suggéré lors de l’entretien avec le New York Times en 2000 que le centre ferme tous les 25 ans afin que sa fonction soit repensée* ; il s’agirait d’une demi-blague, mais en quelque sorte il en est ainsi. Pour la deuxième réouverture en 2027, la rénovation comprend le désamiantage, le traitement de l’air, la stabilité au feu, un audit structurel, et la révision des systèmes électriques et de chauffage visant à réduire de 40% la consommation d’énergie.

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* The New York Times, Showing a Rise From Rebellion to Respectability, Alan Riding, March 5, 2005

SOMEWHAT weird to see the Ministry of Justice on the square known as the center of luxury in Paris, sharing its roofline with a five-star hotel. However, everything here kneels at the emperor on top of the column. 

QUELQUE PEU étrange de voir Le ministère de la Justice sur la place connue comme le centre du luxe à Paris, partageant sa ligne de toit avec un hôtel cinq étoiles. Cependant, tout ici s’agenouille à l’empereur au sommet de la colonne.

I OFTEN GO to this little chapel instead of the cathedral next door. Light and simple, not dazzled by majesty, nor frozen by solemnity, I see the space as a receptacle of time; time lasts and engraves history within it.

JE VAIS SOUVENT dans cette petite chapelle au lieu de la cathédrale qui se trouve juste à côté. Léger et simple, non pas ébloui par la majesté, ni figé par la solennité, je vois l’espace comme un réceptacle du temps ; le temps dure et grave l’histoire en lui.