Having recently visited the Museum of French Architecture at the Trocadero, Paris, the notion of having such a place in Wales was revived. We can, as always, learn something from the French. When you leave any of the major Paris museums you do not have to ask the question "Do the French have a word for chauvinism?". The Trocadero does not disappoint in this respect. Whilst the exhibits stop short of claiming that the Abbe Suger single handedly built the Basilica of St Denis using only French culinary implements they do not tire of reminding the visitor that before the term "Gothic" came into common use, it was known as the "French Style" . The principles of Opus Francigenum are applied to architecture as they are to other areas of culture. The history of architecture is given a resolutely French perspective; any inconvenient gaps being gracefully spanned and highlights breezily annexed. Just as their most famous local artist, Picasso, is celebrated in the Marais, Le Corbusier is given pride of place at the Trocadero. (The latter may in fact have better credentials as a Frenchman than the former. He at least made the effort to collaborate with the Vichy government). I cannot swear I saw a drawing labelled Franc Le Wright or a specific claim that Monsieur Lord Rogers had only ever built in Paris and Bordeaux but, hopefully, you get the general tone of the exhibition.
My proposition is that we could learn from this in setting out the history of architecture and urbanism in Wales by application of the reverse principle. For example, a hypothesis may be constructed on the fact that, under the Normans and Plantagenets, Wales was French. Ergo, the best of our castles are French, the remains of our great abbeys are French. We are not, as has been claimed 'Italians in the rain' but Fortified by the French. From this we might lay claim to some percentage of the overweening self-regard of the average Parisian. This may appear to be an oxymoron as few, if any, Parisians would considered themselves average but therein lies the point. Civic pride is pathological, the city is celebrated, the concept of patrimonie ingrained. We need to get a bit of that in Wales.
The most obvious place to do this is at the Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans. Established by the great Iorwerth Peate in 1948 it offers an outstanding collection of Welsh buildings but does not, in its present form, tell the whole story. As part of a £24m revamp of the main museum building, two new gallery/ exhibition buildings will be constructed and it is unclear what will be in them. Some may share my nervousness that the success of St Fagans as 'Wales' most popular heritage attraction' may be driving such investment and the agenda is about increasing its capacity as a wet weather visitor centre with capacity for weddings and conferences. Those who have heeded Banksy's exhortation to 'Leave Via The Gift Shop' may already be left wondering whether Wales has something more to offer than lovespoons and laverbread. Overall there is the feeling that a central part of our story, that of human settlement and building, is somehow being slowly subsumed, that entertainment takes increasing precedence over education. Such priorities may very well be an economic necessity essential to the well being of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales who, like all public amenities and services, face constraints and cuts at every turn. However, to see St Fagans fall to the curse of the Heritage Theme Park would be a very sad day for those who value the built environment and its history in Wales. On a grey day in the school holidays it is already appearing to be the premier suburb of Llandisney.
If, as appears to be the case, we are faced with a relentless inevitability of dumbing down of our museums as we are in other walks of life, then it might be suggested that the new facilities be supplemented by an additional area which does tell the whole story of architecture and the built environment in Wales - one which educates, informs and entertains the visitor with that story. One which serves to foster and develop a greater degree of pride of place, that much vaunted sense of belonging - hiraeth - which is seemingly evidenced largely in foreign bars in the course of an international season. The construction industry and professions should see that supporting such a proposal would amount to no more than enlightened self-interest. The worst that could possibly happen is that their client and customer base becomes better educated and come to demand better places. This may have partially informed the House For The Future project at St Fagans some years ago, a worthy effort but, unfortunately, nothing dates faster than the future. It is clearly in the right place, having already become a museum piece. There is nothing remarkable about this. In 1544 Yr Garreg Fawr was The House of The Future.
Museums have to keep re- telling the story.
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