page_title: Indigenous architecture
section_title: Kanak contemporary architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Indigenous architecture / New Caledonia (Kanaky) / Kanak contemporary architecture
caption_attribution_description: Tjibaou cultural center, centre culturel Tjibaou Nouméa, New Caledonia.
context_page_description: The recent field of indigenous architecture refers to the study and practice of architecture of, for and by indigenous people. It is a field of study and practice in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Arctic area of Sápmi and many other countries where Indigenous people have a built tradition or aspire translate or to have their cultures translated in the built environment. This sometimes has been extended to landscape architecture, public art, placemaking and ways of contributing to the design of built environments.
context_section_description: Contemporary Kanak society has several layers of customary authority, from the 4,000–5,000 family-based clans to the eight customary areas (aires coutumières) that make up the territory. Clans are led by clan chiefs and constitute 341 tribes, each headed by a tribal chief. The tribes are further grouped into 57 customary chiefdoms (chefferies), each headed by a head chief, and forming the administrative subdivisions of the customary areas.
  The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre (French: Centre Culturel Tjibaou) designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and opened in 1998 is the icon of the Kanak culture and contemporary Kanak architecture.
  The Centre was constructed on the narrow Tinu Peninsula, approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northeast of the centre of Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, celebrates the vernacular Kanak culture, amidst much political controversy over the independent status sought by Kanaks from French rule. It was named after Jean-Marie Tjibaou, the leader of the independence movement who was assassinated in 1989 and who had a vision of establishing a cultural centre which blended the linguistic and artistic heritage of the Kanak people.
  The Kanak building traditions and the resources of modern international architecture were blended by Piano. The formal curved axial layout, 250 metres (820 ft) long on the top of the ridge, contains ten large conical cases or pavilions (all of different dimensions) patterned on the traditional Kanak Grand Hut design. The building is surrounded by landscaping which is also inspired by traditional Kanak design elements. Marie Claude Tjibaou, widow of Jean Marie Tjibaou and current leader of the Agency for the Development of Kanak Culture (ADCK), observed: "We, the Kanaks, see it as a culmination of a long struggle for the recognition of our identity; on the French Government’s part it is a powerful gesture of restitution."
  The building plans, spread over an area of 8,550 square metres (92,000 sq ft) of the museum, were conceived to incorporate the link between the landscape and the built structures in the Kanak traditions. The people had been removed from their natural landscape and habitat of mountains and valleys and any plan proposed for the art centre had to reflect  this aspect. Thus, the planning aimed at a unique building which would be, as the architect Piano stated, "to create a symbol and ...a cultural centre devoted to Kanak civilization, the place that would represent them to foreigners that would pass on their memory to their grand children". The model as finally built evolved after much debate in organized 'Building Workshops' in which Piano's associate, Paul Vincent and Alban Bensa, an anthropologist of repute on Kanak culture were also involved.
  The Kanak village planning principles placed  the houses in groups with the Chief's house at the end of an open public alley formed by other buildings clustered along on both sides was adopted in the Cultural Centre planned by Piano and his associates. An important concept that evolved after deliberations in the 'building workshops, after Piano won the competition for building the art centre, also involved "landscaping ideas" to be created around each building. To this end, an interpretative landscape path was conceived and implemented around each building with series of vegetative cover avenues along the path that surrounded the building, but separated it from the lagoon. This landscape setting appealed to the Kanak people when the centre was inaugurated. Even the approach to the buildings from the paths catered to the local practices of walking for three quarters of the path to get to the entrance to the Cases. One critic of the building observed: "It was very intelligent to use the landscape to introduce the building. This is the way the Kanak people can understand".
  The centre comprises an interconnected series of ten stylised grandes cases (chiefs' huts), which form three villages (covering an area of 6060 square metres). These huts have an exposed stainless-steel structure and are constructed of iroko, a
caption: Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Nouméa
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