Tjibaou Cultural Centre

The Tjibaou centre opened in 1998 on a peninsula outside Nouméa, designed by Renzo Piano as ten curved shells of laminated iroko ribs, open at the back and shaped to catch the trade wind, referring to Kanak building without copying it. It holds exhibition halls, a library and performance spaces devoted to Kanak and wider Pacific culture, and a path through the grounds runs past plantings used in Kanak custom. It is named for the Kanak political leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou.

Background

The centre occupies the narrow Tina Peninsula, approximately 8 kilometres from the old centre of Nouméa to the northeast. Renzo Piano got the work through a design competition dated to 1991, and construction ran from 1993 to 1998. Along a ridge-top axis 250 metres long, ten pavilions called cases, each a different size and modelled on the Kanak Grand Hut, are set in three village clusters with one tall hut in each; the largest rises 28 metres. The plan covers 8550 sq m, and a sunken auditorium seats 400. Its forerunner was the first cultural festival of New Caledonia in 1975, devoted to Kanak culture, and the Melanesia 2000 Festival was held on this ground.

Source: Wikipedia, "Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre"

Highlights

• The ten shells - curved iroko structures open at the back to the trade wind.
• The exhibition halls - Kanak and wider Pacific collections and changing shows.
• The Kanak path - the planted route through the grounds using customary species.
• The Piano design - a building drawn from Kanak forms without imitating them.

When to go

April to November is the dry, cooler season. The centre closes Mondays. Performances run on a schedule worth checking ahead.

Good to know

It closes on Mondays and some exhibition halls close between shows. It is a bus or taxi ride from central Nouméa. Labelling is largely in French.

Nearby

Nouméa is southwest, and Mont Koghi is north.

Key facts