Controversial opening of the Philharmonie de Paris

Concert hall | © William Beaucardet / via Facebook / Philharmonie de Paris

After eight years of controversy, the Philharmonic of Paris has finally been opened on 14 January 2015, in a VIP event with a ceremony led by President François Hollande.

Designed to compete with the world's great concert halls, the new Philharmonie de Paris will host two orchestras and three musical formations.

The building is covered with 340,000 aluminum birds, in 7 shapes and 4 different colors, Escher style. Inside it there is a large concert hall, with excellent acoustics and a capacity of 2,400 seats, six rehearsal rooms ten studios, educational workshops, a cafeteria and a panoramic restaurant.

Some criticisms have been pointed out regarding the "pharaonic" size of the building, in addition to its location in La Villette, in the eastern part of Paris, also questioned for being a peripheral and region, far from the traditional audience of classical music.

In addition, since the project was started in 2006, the cost of the newly opened building has nearly doubled. From the initially estimated 200 million euros, it is now expected that the Philharmonie will cost the public coffers around 386 million euros.

Contributing to increase the controversy, the building’s designer, the prestigious French architect Jean Nouvel, winner of the Pritzker Prize in 2008, issued a statement in which he stated that he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Philharmonie of Paris, arguing that the building is still "unfinished".

Exterior | © Jacques-Franck Degioanni / via Le Moniteur

Exterior | © Jacques-Franck Degioanni / via Le Moniteur

Facade detail | © Jacques-Franck Degioanni / via Le Moniteur

Facade detail | © Jacques-Franck Degioanni / via Le Moniteur

Interior detail | © Jacques-Franck Degioanni / via Le Moniteur

Despite the opening occur three years following the originally planned, the architect argues that “there were no acoustic tests of the concert hall [as] the schedule did not allow the architectural and technical requirements to be respected, [...] despite all the warnings which I have been giving since 2013.”

In his statement, he has also tackled the inflammatory cost overruns of the project stating that: “I affirm that in no case was I at the origin of any cost overrun on this project,” citing the public report ofCour des Comptes (of February 2012) which concluded that “‘poor piloting’ [and] ‘many delays related to the fluctuations of the public arbitrations’ which ‘obviously influenced the cost of the operation’” were primarily to blame.

The Culture Minister, Fleur Pellerin, has recognized these problems. "This project was miscalculated from the start. The cost has been widely underestimated, "said the minister the newspaper Aujourd'hui en France.

Architect Jean Nouvel concludes his statement by saying that “this fall, when the construction is completed, will be time to inaugurate it peacefully and with dignity.”

The construction works will continue for several months, but the musical events are already set up to July and may be consulted at the website: www.philharmoniedeparis.fr.