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Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie

Coordinates: 48°52′56″N 2°18′37″E / 48.8821848°N 2.3103401°E / 48.8821848; 2.3103401
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Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie
The Hotel Gaillard, future site of the Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie
Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie is located in Paris
Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie
Location within Paris
Establishedlate 2014
LocationParis
Coordinates48°52′56″N 2°18′37″E / 48.8821848°N 2.3103401°E / 48.8821848; 2.3103401
Typemuseum
Public transit accessMalesherbes
Websitehttps://www.citeco.fr/en

The Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie or Citéco[1] is a museum dedicated to the economy, located in Paris, France. It was inaugurated on 15 May 2019, and opened to the public on 14 June 2019. The museum was financed with patronage from the Banque de France, and is located in the Hotel Gaillard.

History

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Grand lobby of the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie
Grand Lobby of the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie, architectural and museographic contest, 2011

The Banque de France announced the creation of the Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie during a press conference held by Governor Christian Noyer on May 25, 2011. The museum was proposed as an educational facility, inviting the general public to discover economics, tackle issues often met in everyday life, and encourage a better understanding of world events.[2]

The Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie mainly addresses teachers and students, to help illustrate concepts studied at school (around one-third of the estimated 130,000 annual visitors are expected to be students).[3]

Partners

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The project is led by the Banque de France, in collaboration with several partners.[4] Among these are:

Building

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Citéco is hosted in the Hotel Gaillard.

The neo-gothic mansion was designed by architect Jules Février at the request of Emile Gaillard, a banker from the city of Grenoble and amateur collector of Middle Ages and Renaissance art. The Hotel Gaillard was sold to the Banque de France in 1919.

From 1919 to 1921, architectural works were directed by architect Alphonse Defrasse for the Banque de France, especially the building of a steel structure that housed the cashier's desks and other services to the visitors. He imagined the impressive vault that could be accessed by a lift bridge, over two-meter-deep moats.[5]

Listed as a historic monument in 1999, this branch closed in 2006, as a consequence of the plan to close half of the Banque de France's French branches.

Architectural contest

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Citéco was the object of an architectural contest. Over 100 teams of architects and museographers participated. The contest aimed at transforming this former bank branch into an educational Cité, while respecting the architecture of the historic building.

The winner was selected by the Banque de France from six finalists chosen by the contest jury. The winning team is made of Ateliers Lion for the architecture, François Confino for the museography, and Eric Pallot as architect in charge of historic monuments.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ "Citéco | Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie". www.citeco.fr (in French). Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  2. ^ Banque de France Governor Christian Noyer's speech[permanent dead link], Press conference, May 25th, 2011 : Launching of the Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie project
  3. ^ Banque de France press release "Un grand projet pour un lieu unique : Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie Archived 2011-08-28 at the Wayback Machine", May 25th, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Press kit: Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie.
  5. ^ Historical study on the Hotel Gaillard, led by the Groupe de Recherche Art Histoire Architecture et Littérature (GRAHAL), on request of the Banque de France.
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