> Projects > Louvre Project > Interview Christophe MONIN
The most difficult thing during this project was trying to coordinate the differing ways of thinking of two different cultures. These consisted of the European approach to work and the Japanese approach which is exacting and professional. The curators put a premium on artistic features, while the engineers tend to focus on the technology and rationality. Therefore, the biggest problem for the Mecenat during this project was effectively coordinating efforts by two cultures that fundamentally differ.
The Louvre Museum receives donations from a large number of people that are made to enable the museum to maintain its heritage and grow as an institution. The Louvre Museum needs to remain an exemplary institution for all mankind to reciprocate this generosity. Naturally, one way it can do this is in its approach to protecting the environment, and this will only become more important in the future. The reduction in power consumption of approximately 60% for the ceiling lighting in the Red Rooms during this project has made a large contribution to the future of the museum.
In addition to helping protect the environment, this contribution also has an impact on the artistic character of the museum. During this project, all of us at the museum rediscovered the beauty of the Pyramidions, facade and other exterior features. This was achieved by the high quality and high precision of the lighting provided by Toshiba. The new night lighting at the Louvre Museum has become a wonderful gift to all of the people of Paris, as well as everyone that visits Paris.
One of the biggest treasures gained during this project was an abundance of encounters with many great people. In particular, we were very impressed by all of the management at Toshiba and everyone on the Toshiba project team. You could feel the strong pride that the people at Toshiba had in this project from the penetrating look they all had at the lighting ceremony. I do not think that this project would have been such a big success without the project leader. Toshiba’s Technology Department solved the various difficult technological problems that we threw at them with great determination and creativity. The professionalism and high level of motivation of the people I worked with is something that I will not forget.
A variety of projects have been planned at the Louvre Museum for redevelopment of our display space. The power of technology is something that is indispensable for these projects. I look forward to Toshiba and the Louvre Museum joining hands again to realize these wonderful projects by “fusing” technology and art.