Last week it opened in the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France (Le Corbusier, 1951-1955), the opening of new visitor center and monastery designed by Renzo Piano, a project that gave rise to intense debate when it was first announced in 2008. In his time, opponents feared the addition would distract from the power of sculptoric work by Le Corbusier.

Renzo Piano has designed the expansion in collaboration with the French landscape architect Michel Corajoud. It is just part of gardening that Renzo Piano at the opening warned that the work was not completely finished, "50 percent failure." By May 2012, the landscaping—designed by Michel Corajoud—should be finished, and visitors will be able to see the full intention of Piano’s design.

The project  of euros 14 millon, was commissioned by the Association Oeuvre Notre Dame du Haut, the same organization that hired Corbusier to design the chapel, completed in 1954. So as not to detract from Corbusier’s building, Piano inserted the visitors’ center and convent into the side of a grassy slope leading up to chapel. The convent includes residences for 12 Poor Clare nuns and a small oratory.

The removal of the old visitor center (an unfortunate intervention), integration into the natural environment, as well as the choice of materials (concrete, zinc and wood) are designed to provide unity to the whole.

Sketch of project © RPBW

Opponents petitioned the Minister of Culture of France to support the original bill and against the proposed reform. Among them were important architecture figures, such as Rafael Moneo, Richard Meier and Cesar Pelli, among others. There was also a petition supporting the project with Massimiliano Fuksas, David Adjaye, Tadao Ando, ​​John Pawson, and more.

Piano is no stranger to this controversy and understands the position of critics of the project. "I love Le Corbusier building," he says. "For me, it's a masterpiece. Became one of the world's most beautiful places for meditation. If a different architect had been hired for this job", he said," probably would be worried, so I can understand."

 

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Renzo Piano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937 to a family of builders. He graduated from Milan Polytechnic in 1964 and began to work with experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters. In 1971, he founded the Piano & Rogers studio and, together with Richard Rogers, won the competition for the Centre Pompidou in Paris. From the early 1970s to the 1990s, Piano collaborated with engineer Peter Rice, founding Atelier Piano & Rice in 1977. In 1981, he established the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, with offices today in Genoa, Paris and New York. Renzo Piano has been awarded the highest honors in architecture, including; the Pritzker Prize; RIBA Royal Gold Medal; Medaille d’Or, UIA; Erasmus Prize; and most recently, the Gold Medal of the AIA.

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The Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) was established in 1981 by Renzo Piano with offices in Genoa, Italy and Paris, France. The practice has since expanded and now also operates from New York.

RPBW is led by 10 partners, including founder and Pritzker Prize laureate, architect Renzo Piano.

The practice permanently employs about 130 architects together with a further 30 support staff including 3D visualization artists, model makers, archivers, administrative and secretarial staff.

Their staff has a wide experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams on building projects in France, Italy and abroad.

As architects, they are involved in the projects from start to finish. They usually provide full architectural design services and consultancy services during the construction phase. Their design skills extend beyond mere architectural services. Their work also includes interior design services, town planning and urban design services, landscape design services and exhibition design services.

RPBW has successfully undertaken and completed over 140 projects around the world.

Currently, among the main projects in progress are: the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles; the École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay; the Paddington Square in London and; the Toronto Courthouse.

Major projects already completed include: the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris; the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas; the Kanak Cultural Center in Nouméa, New Caledonia; the Kansaï International Airport Terminal Building in Osaka; the Beyeler Foundation Museum in Basel; the reconstruction of the Potsdamer Platz area in Berlin; the Rome Auditorium; the New York Times Building in New York; the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco; the Chicago Art Institute expansion in Chicago, Illinois; The Shard in London; Columbia University’s Manhattanville development project in New York City; the Harvard museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Intesa Sanpaolo office building in Turin, Italy; the Kimbell Art Museum expansion in Texas; the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Valletta City Gate in Malta; the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens; the Centro Botín in Santander; the New Paris Courthouse and others throughout the world.

Exhibitions of Renzo Piano and RPBW’s works have been held in many cities worldwide, including at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2018.
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Published on: September 21, 2011
Cite: "Opening for Renzo Piano's Controversial Expansion at Ronchamp Chapel" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/opening-renzo-pianos-controversial-expansion-ronchamp-chapel> ISSN 1139-6415
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