Clara Vallis Dossier 2005  (251 KB)

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A VISION FOR THE CLAIRVAUX HERITAGE
(Translated from the original French text published on January 3rd, 2005 by Christophe DM BARLIEB, Architect)

The densities and the complexities of the Clairvaux site are impregnated by the histories of the Abbey and the prison. This rich territory offers the Aube department an exceptional opportunity to give birth to new spaces filled with cultural meaning and reaching out to the department, the region, the nation and Europe as it once did.

A concrete vision is necessary to assume these measures. This is an enterprise demanding unyielding partnerships who share the desire of achieving these common goals. These reflections propose the foundations for a project valorizing the Abbey within its current context.

First of all, one must grasp the current cultural context of Clairvaux. What does Clairvaux have to offer us and what may we offer to its public?

Clairvaux is a 33ha property loaded with over 900 years of history; a European history of spirituality and civilization. It is from this point that we may imagine “creating” a proposal presenting pedagogical and cultural themes at European and International levels.

What would such a proposal encompass?

We must preserve and highlight the historical heritage of Clairvaux handed down to us by Saint Bernard and by the present prison; to achieve this we must avoid turning Clairvaux into a museum devoid of life. On the contrary we must illuminate the life contained within the existing structures; the life that made them pass from the “ Celestial City ” (the Clairvaux Abbey) to the “ Contra City ” (the prison life that has occupied them for the past two centuries). It is in this light that we may imagine a new form of the “ Ideal City ” within the context of Clairvaux.

This new form could unfold through a project whose stages and goals would be the following:

• Restoring the Clairvaux Abbey so it may serve as a cultural and spiritual site by proposing exhibitions addressing the monastic and penitentiary life throughout the times to the present; hosting conferences inviting private and public parties to discuss current themes.


• Founding a theological institute open to all religions and inviting the exchange of ideas, beliefs and educations.


• Creating a new diplomatic center designed to address international relations by taking a fresh approach to the question of peace, liberty, justice and human rights by bringing them into context with current geopolitical challenges such as: religion, water and natural resource depletion, over-population, etc.


• Opening a library and a research center on the art and architecture of religions and housing the collections of the diplomatic, theological, and historical institutes located at Clairvaux.


• Founding a new monastery emerging out of a new architectural vocabulary describing the present Cistercian vision and housing one monk from each country of the Cistercian Order following the rule of Saint Benedict under the directive of Cîteaux.


• Founding a center for rehabilitating all freed prisoners with a program designed to help them rebuild their lives.


• Erecting a chapel to the memory of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in proximity to the Clairvaux site.

Clairvaux is a place necessitating an emotional outlook towards its cultural significance and a rational take on the structural order of social lifestyles. This dualism between the emotional and the rational are the basis of modern society. Clairvaux has the potential to be as modern and unique in Europe as it was once was. We may therefore justify the interest of such a progressive project allowing an immediate implementation yet permitting steady growth and development for future generations.