Hergé Museum by Christian de Portzamparc Opens in Louvain-la-Neuve

The Hergé Museum, designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc, opened in June 2009 in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 30 minutes from Brussels. The 3,600-square-meter museum explores the multifaceted work of Georges Remi, known as Hergé, creator of Tintin. Hergé's influence extended beyond comics to graphic design, advertising, caricature, and satire, as noted by Andy Warhol. The building features a main volume with giant glass openings resembling comic strip panels, revealing four large colored volumes that house eight thematic chapters. The exhibition design, by Belgian cartoonist Joost Swaarte, uses dark rooms to protect fragile drawings, with walkways allowing visitors to reconnect with natural light. The museum avoids becoming a theme park by resonating with Hergé's work, presenting drawings, photographs, and testimonials, including a film where philosopher Michel Serres claims he learned more about fetishism from Tintin's 'The Broken Ear' than from Freud, Marx, or Auguste Comte. Portzamparc's design demonstrates his ability to handle scale and program, with parallels to his other projects like the Quebec library and Rio's Cité de la Musique.