Latest news with #GrandPalais
LeMonde
03-06-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
'France's cultural heritage is becoming fashionable and useful, but the state can no longer foot the bill alone'
In 2022, when she was France's minister of culture, Roselyne Bachelot slammed her fist on the table. "We no longer know how to build things solidly!" she exclaimed. She was fuming about the repeated fortunes that must be spent to renovate museums or performance halls. Now, several of Paris's cultural giants face staggering renovation costs. Yet these costs signal an exciting shift for France's cultural heritage. The figures are dizzying: €469 million for the Centre Pompidou, which will close in September for five years. The Grand Palais reopens on June 6 after €500 million in renovations. The Louvre is set to break the bank with €900 million. Versailles? €588 million between 2003 and 2032. Add another €556 million by 2036 for the Garnier and Bastille operas. In January, the Court of Accounts, France's public audit office, also flagged the €638 million spent on renovating the Maison de la Radio, the headquarters of Radio France. The list could go on. One could mention the 87 cathedrals owned by the state, including the one in Nantes, which reopens in September after a fire and a €32 million restoration. Or the Clairvaux Abbey, in the Champagne region, where the Ministry of Culture has "invested" €60 million in the grand cloister. Costs in the heritage sector escalate quickly, but the state must keep up and lead by example to remain credible. For decades, when it was the owner, the state paid the bills alone. But it can no longer do so. Needs have grown alongside costs. More recent buildings are more fragile. The hundreds built in the 1980s and 1990s during the era when François Mitterand was president now require care. The darling of the recovery plan A new policy is taking shape. A handful of prestigious institutions must now contribute financially. The division of labor is revealing. The state pays for the unglamorous and less visible parts (asbestos removal, compliance, waterproofing), while the institution covers the more prestigious elements (public spaces, artistic programming) through ticket sales, sponsors, advertising banners, and by leveraging its brand.
Time Out
14-05-2025
- Time Out
These Midwestern museums were just named among the most beautiful museums in the world
The prestigious Prix Versailles recognizes beautiful architecture and design all over the world at an annual awards program held at UNESCO for the last 10 years—and two U.S. museums show up on its list of the World's Most Beautiful Museums, released earlier this month. The list each year focuses on new or recently renovated structures. Museums showcase beauty, so it's always wonderful when the building itself is a piece of art. It enhances the visit and makes you feel like you are entered a hallowed space. The list is short, with only seven museums on it this year. While we admire the architecture of the Saka Museum in Bali with steel and glass providing a beautiful counterpoint to the ancient artifacts inside and are thrilled to see the Grand Palais in Paris finally emerge from four years of work, it's really the two U.S. museums that catch our attention. In Ohio, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has won a spot on the list. As recently renovated by the DLR Group, its architecture showcases Northeast Ohio's geological history and especially its historic glaciers, which formed the Great Lakes. The glaciers' flow is interpreted at the museum with 'flowing white alluvial forms in a single, continuous concept to unify the various parts of the facility,' says the Prix Versailles statement. The original museum is a century old, and its collections tell the story of the life of Earth, back to the time of dinosaurs. Likewise, the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, has emerged from a two-year renovation of two of its three unique structures and the addition of a third, all connected to each other. These include the original Art Deco Joslyn building from 1931 designed by John and Alan McDonald; the 1994 pavilion by Norman Foster as his first American commission (he's behind the incredible transformation at San Francisco's iconic Transamerica Pyramid), and 2024's new pavilion designed by Snøhetta (the group behind San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art 2016 addition). The museum offers free entry and collections that vary widely: from Amy Sherald 's 'The Beauty of Change' (2023) to medieval Old Masters. Here is the full list of the seven Most Beautiful Museums in the World. It appears not to be a ranked list, but rather organized alphabetically by country:
Time Out
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Two Asian museums have been named among the most beautiful in the world for 2025
Talk about being beautiful inside and out – some museums are worth visiting as much for their stunning exteriors as for the fascinating objects they house. Prix Versailles, a prestigious architectural award that recognises gorgeous airports, campuses, hotels, and other buildings worldwide, has released its 2025 list of the world's most beautiful museums. In this case, beauty is not just skin deep – these museums also demonstrate exceptional harmony with their environment and artefacts. It's a short and sweet list of just seven museums, and two are from Asia. The first is Bali's Saka Museum, a cultural gem in Ayana Bali that opened in 2023. Prix Versailles highlights how its architectural design "embodies the Balinese philosophy of Giri Segara, the sacred balance between mountain and sea" with a sloping roof that visually connects sky and ocean. The beautiful reflecting pool invites visitors to pause for introspection, creating a fitting atmosphere for the museum's showcase of Balinese traditions in the past and present. There's lots to check out here, including sensory installations fashioned around Bali's sacred Day of Silence, and a showcase that dives into subak, the island's UNESCO-listed irrigation and water temple systems. Seoul's Audeum Audio Museum, the world's first dedicated audio museum, also made the list. For a spot dedicated to audio equipment, it's fitting that the museum itself is something of an instrument playing on all senses. Prix Versailles spotlights these sensory experiences: an array of vertical aluminium pipes forms a glittering, waterfall-like facade; the lobby is covered in cool, textured stone, bringing to mind a deep valley; while interior spaces are fitted with wood and filled with the fragrance of Alaskan cypress trees. The Prix Versailles named five other museums, including Paris's Grand Palais and Riyadh's Diriyah Art Futures. Check out the full list below. These are the most beautiful museums in the world for 2025, according to Prix Versailles:
