CES locking system for the Mudam, the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg

New museum by architect Ieoh Ming Pei sets international benchmarks

Many modern musums all over the world are a successful combination of art and architecture.  More than a mere framework for the art, the museum building itself becomes an attraction.  One example is the new Mudam, the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg, another ingenious museum design of the 89 year old Sino-Amercian architect Ieoh Ming Pei.  His concept: The museum is to be a venue where visitors are allowed to circulate at ease and enjoy a pleasant visit.  4,800 square metres of the total net area of about 10,000 square metres are accessible to the public.  They are distributed across three levels and comprise exhibition rooms as well as an auditorium, a museum shop, and the café.

Despite the largely open room structures intended by the architect, security is an important consideration in this public building.  The contract for the locking system was awarded to C.Ed.Schulte Zylinderschloßfabrik (CES) of Velbert, who already supplied the locking system for another spectacular museum building, Zaha Hadid's Phaeno Science Centre in Wolfsburg.
200 CES reversible key cylinder were installed in Luxembourg.  They ensure the separation of public and internal areas as well as the secured and controlled access of the 30 permanent museum employees through a general master key system.  The horizontal reversible key system has numerous features that ensure an effective protection against burglary.  The cylinders are equipped with 5 spring-loaded locking pins and up to 12 combination pins.  To prevent drilling, the first pairs of pins on each cylinder side are made of hard metal and are additionally provided with hardened and chromium-plated steel inserts.  The anti-picking feature according to the DIN 18252 standard comprises special driver pins for an effective protection against picking tools.  The legally protected system prevents unauthorized duplication of keys, while the special shape of the key tip ensures an easy insertion of the key.  The cylinders installed in the Mudam can also be easily integrated in an electronic extension of the locking system.

Ieoh Ming Pei's design captivates by its geometric, functional and monumental shapes.  It really invites intervention by the artists.  The architect does not want to dominate art but entice the visitors to look at it.  In this respect, movement is a key consideration for Pei -  the visitor has nearly unlimited freedom of motion, and the numerous stairs and transitions that seem to move like freely suspended sculptures between various levels and rooms are a central element in his brand of architecture.

The building is shaped like an arrow, resting on the foundation of the visible outer walls of the old Fort Thüngen built in 1732.  This results in an asymmetric shape with 45° angles rising from the ruins.  The remains of the fortress were only uncovered and reconstructed as part of the construction of the museum.  This combination not only creates the unique architectural appeal of the museum, it also posed a special challenge to the architect: "What fascinated me most was the interaction between past and present, between past and future and how to create a harmony in which one reinforces the other." 

The access to the museum is provided by two bridges approaching one another that span across the former trenches of the fortress and lead to the tip of the arrow of the museum building. After crossing the lobby, the visitor enters the Grand Hall, the heart of the museum building with a 33 metre high glass and steel roof construction surmounted by a square tower.  The two exhibition rooms on the first floor are directly accessible from the Grand Hall via a stairway or lateral stairs.  Shed roofs with girders made of exposed concrete spanning up to 29 metres make for a natural, diffused lighting free of shadows.

The floors of the exhibition rooms are covered with natural oak, the walls are plastered. The entire exterior and some parts of the interior of the building are clad with Magny doré, a honey-coloured limestone which gives the angular ensemble despite all its sobriety a warm appeal and develops its unique esthetic charm especially in the combination with glass and light.  The ceilings of exposed concrete show the imprint of the softwood used for the shuttering.  Also the stairs, themselves architectural masterpieces, are made of cast concrete.

The Mudam, which was officially opened in July 2006 with the "Eldorado" exhibition is another highlight in a series of international museum buildings that have contributed to the worldwide fame of the Pritzker award winning Ieoh Ming Pei.  These include museums in Washington and Boston, the restructuring of the Paris Louvre with the famous glass pyramid and the new exhibition hall of the German Historical Museum in Berlin, to name just a few.  2006 saw another opening of a creation by Ieoh Ming Pei, the museum in the Chinese city of Suzhou, where Pei was born, and in 2007, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, followed.

Construction sign:
Developer: Ministère des Travaux publics, Administration des Bâtiments Publics

Architects: Ieoh Ming Pei, Cobb Freed & Partners, New York/Georges Reuters Architectes, Luxembourg

Gross area: 12,000 square metres
Net area: 10,000 square metres
Building volume: 72,000 cubic metres
Maximum height: 33 m
Start of construction: January 1999
Completion/opening: July 2006
Locking system: CES

Photos:
Top: Villaggi
Bottom: PeiCobbFreed