André Malraux et l’architecture

Together with Jack Lang he is undoubtedly the minister of Culture that most marked the Fifth Republic in France. With one obvious advantage: he himself created the ministry at rue de Valois. His commitment in favor of national heritage is well known, as is his interest in its most recent manifestations – he founded the service of the inventory of historic buildings and imposed a change of legislation to help protect the monuments of the XXth century. This book, the presentation of the symposiums held in November 2006, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death, details the place architecture held in Malraux’s thoughts and actions (his fascination for Greece, for Egypt or the grottos of Elephanta, in India), his friendship with Le Corbusier, Faugeron or Niemeyer, his combat to defend the Villa Savoye when it was threatened by the construction of the lycée of Poissy, the genesis of the law on the protected sectors or the beginnings of the cleaning of the capital. « I changed the color of Paris» Malraux used to say. His role in architectural creation, illustrated by a teaching reform and the construction of houses of culture, is also looked at.

• André Malraux et l’architecture directed by Dominique Hervier, Editions Le Moniteur, 2008, 296 p., 29 €, ISBN : 978-2-281-19393-0