projects for Paris and France
by
VITTORIO MAZZUCCONI
Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1972
Competition
Regional Cultural Center
| BACK | HOMEPAGE | ARCHITECTURE | PAINTING | PHILOSOPHY | FOUNDATION |
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| LUTETIA projects for Paris and France by VITTORIO MAZZUCCONI |
Centre Culturel Régional
Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1972 Competition Regional Cultural Center |
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above: the rapport between the form of the "cradle" and that of the chapel left: perspective of the "cradle-vessel-egg" below: view of the entire Center |
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The Sun King was born in the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and to commemorate this event today, the city portrays the King’s cradle in its coat of arms. The project for the Regional Cultural Center relived the history of this birth, seen as a poetic reference to the theme of the birth of the divine infant, from Jesus to Virgilio to even ourselves - a beautiful myth, rich with meaning. Next to the site for the new Center there is the Chapel where the King was baptized. Mazzucconi linked the form of this church to the cradle, and both forms to that of the auditorium, which is like a gigantic cradle (essentially the same idea of the vessel or the ark, which recurs in Mazzucconi’s architecture, reappearing in variations of the same form: see The Halles ). The rest of the composition and, in particular, the roofing, were inspired by a pre-existing building on the same site: the façade of an antique gothic house was transformed into an inspirational element of the new architecture. |
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