Art and Architecture in Kirchberg

In stark contrast to the picturesque old city of Luxembourg, with its ancient fortress ramparts perched high above the Alzette valley, the Kirchberg plateau is home to many of the European Commission offices and international financial institutions in futuristic concrete, steel and glass pavilions. Many of these house expansive art collections which are hidden from the public except on one day of the year. 

  

I am not sure which is the more impressive, the art or the architecture. It really doesn’t matter, as there were plenty of amazing examples of both. An added attraction was the copious refreshments being proffered, including some our favourite local bubbly.

  

Never having been part of a formal corporate structure, I was fascinated by the work station and office layouts. I can only imagine the kerfuffle before the weekend with the tidying and sanitising of the rooms open to the public. There was not one personal nor discordant element to be seen. Come to think of it, it rather appealed to me. 

  

Despite the hyperbole served up in its accompanying blurb, the Ubbo Kuggler work “Gardens” was one of our favourite pieces. It consisted of a matrix of silhouettes of public parks in various European capital cities.

  

The older part of the European Investment Bank headquarters was designed by the eminent British architect, Sir Denys Lasdun, he of the Royal National Theatre on London’s South Bank (which Prince Charles famously compared to a nuclear power station). I have always found a strange attraction to the Brutalist style, I guess because of the explicit use of reinforced concrete and the extreme geometrical forms made available by the engineering properties of the material.

The newer part was finished in 2008 and was designed by the German Ingenhoven Architects. It is supposed to be very green, with its striking tubular glass roof soaring over the full height atriums and zig-zag layout of offices. It is all quite spectacular.

In one of the fund management or whatever corporations, there were a number of clever and striking pieces of art, the one below being a portrait of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour made from old LP’s. Sorry, but …… As I stood there looking at it on the wall, becoming comfortably numb, I couldn’t help but wish you were here. I can only presume that it was sold for a record price.

Another interesting one was this portrait created from various coloured plastic bottle caps. Typically, I found myself thinking less about the art and more of the artifice involved – Photoshop extreme contrast and pixilation? It looks better from way back.

I am sure that there is a specific term in the Kneip corporate lexicon to describe the low ceiling rooms which are home to 30 or so twin screen workstations. Sweatshop comes to mind. I suspect that there is not much time allowed to appreciate the artworks. Pity, as they were really quite suggestive.

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