Rue des Accords de Matignon, Tina, BP 378
98845 Noumea
New Caledonia

Renzo Piano Building Workshop 1998

The Centre Culturel Tjibaou, dedicated to Jean-Marie Tjibaou who died in 1989 while leading the fight for his country’s autonomy from the French government, is devoted to the cultural origins and search for identity of the native Kanak people of New Caledonia and the South Pacific. In the native tongue of Jean-Marie Tjibaou, pije language, it is also known as Ngan Jila – meaning cultural center.

The Center itself is similar to that of the villages in which the Kanak tribes live; a series of huts (or case in French) which distinguish the different functions and hierarchies of the tribes (les tribus) and a central alley along which the huts are dispersed. More specifically, the Cultural Center is composed of three ‘villages’ made up of ten ‘Great Houses’ of varying sizes and functions (exhibition spaces, multimedia library, cafeteria, conference and lecture rooms). The ‘Great Houses’ are linked by a long, gently curving enclosed walkway, reminiscent of the ceremonial alley of the traditional Kanak village…

(hipped to this via Lord Whimsy)