Perfect place, not of rest, but of movement

A very special visitor came to our Luxembourg Headquarters on May 5 in the form of famed French architect, Paul Andreu. The man behind the realisation of many airports, including Charles de Gaulle, Terminal 2E and the Roissy TGV train station  and more recently the Peking Opera and the Shanghai Centre of Oriental Art, gave an inspiring talk on ‘L’acier et la lumière’ (steel and light) in the Salle de Spectacle.

It was a great experience to attend the lecture of Paul Andreu. His presentation included a slide show of some of his works as he spoke about how the relationship between light and steel and space can produce beautiful effects. Of one waiting lounge he designed, Andreu described it as: “… light flowing in, creating an ever changing environment of blue, grey and white light – perfect for a place, not of rest, but of movement.”

Perhaps the best way to understand Andreu’s overall vision is to hear it is his own words: “I am interested in attaining a sense of weightlessness and transparency and I strive to tackle all the details of construction with great precision and truthfulness. But to me, what matters most is the space itself, its structure and its bounds as defined by the material which stands out against the light or dissolves into it.”

Charlotte Rodaway of Internal Communications had the opportunity to interview Andreu, which will appear in the next boldspirit magazine, and a film of this event was taken which should be available to watch sometime in June.

In the meantime, if you are interested in knowing more about this fascinating architect’s philosophy and works, go to www.paul-andreu.com

Photo: Claudine Bosseler