Renzo piano architect jean-marie tjibaou cultural greatest

During the process of negotiations for the independence of the French territory of New Caledonia, and per its request, the government of the metropolis took on the commitment of building in Nouméa a center in the memory of the political leader Jean Marie Tjibaou, assassinated in 1989, and devoted to the promotion of the Kanak culture.

The cultural complex consists of 10 ‘houses’, all of them of different size and function.

Renzo piano works

It is a actual village with its own paths, vegetation and public spaces, and that is in direct contact with the ocean. From the beginning of the process there was a thorough study of the air currents and a search for the way to express the tradition of the Pacific with a modern language. Hence, the main challenge of the project was to pay tribute to a particular culture from the respect of its history and traditions, of its past, present and future, as well as its sensibility.

This entailed placing technology and European methods at the service of traditions