Comments spoken during the ceremony:

“The tradition of celebrating the start of work on a building, or laying the first stone, is a reminder that our profession, which is about building dreams, starts with ideas but is necessarily formalised with matter.

Our work, ultimately, has a pivotal moment in its meeting with matter.

Building has always been a collective operation. It is the multiple sum of efforts, skills and energies with a common goal.

And I, here, would like to remember all of those people who, with their hands and their minds, are involved, and wish them all the best, encourage them and thank them for their work.”

Comments about the project:

“We want this building to be subtle rather than spectacular, precise and vital rather than chaotic and spasmodic, a building in which matter expresses itself with care and sensibility, and eyes and hands can approach without limits.”

“We want this building to have a neighbourly relation with the remains of the existing former barracks (the past), but, at the same time, to turn resolutely towards the present day and to the future.”