The Kembs Niffer lock in the Haut-Rhin.

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Marx Zeppeline

  • The Kembs Niffer lock in the Haut-Rhin, also called the Le Corbusier lock, will receive 300,000 euros for its restoration from the Stéphane Bern Heritage Mission.

  • Classified as a historical monument in 2005, it is the only achievement in Alsace by the famous architect Le Corbusier.

  • Today abandoned, this primer will allow the restoration of two listed buildings, namely the control tower and the administrative building.

But why is the Kembs-Niffer lock, known as Le Corbusier, in the Haut-Rhin, going to benefit from a subsidy of 300,000 euros drawn from Stéphane Bern's lottery?

Would the TV host have developed a passion for boating on the Rhine at the Rhône Canal, the only activity today of this group dating from the 1960s?

Because at first glance, it does not seem obvious as the concrete structure of the control tower and the administrative building, which are the subject of this grant, may seem uninteresting for a neophyte.

No old eroded stones as for the other Alsatian project chosen by the Heritage Mission (the surrounding wall of Wangen in the Bas-Rhin), no rattling frames or dungeons in danger.

A rare public commission from Le Corbusier

And yet.

The interest of the Kembs Niffert lock lies in the representation of an entire architectural and social movement of an era.

A vision carried by its architect, the influential Le Corbusier, part of whose work is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This means that we have a real architectural gem here.

“This lock is moreover his only achievement in Alsace and one of the rare French public commissions to the architect”, underlines Jean Laurent Kistler, head of the development department of Voies navigables de France (VNF) in Strasbourg, owner of the 'lock.

The Kembs Niffer lock in the Haut-Rhin.

- Alexandra LEBON

Delivered in 1961, the whole was registered as a historical monument in March 2005. Even if the two structures have been abandoned over the years, especially since the automation of the large lock located a few hundred meters in upstream in 1995. New lock allowing much longer convoys and supporting more freight.

The tower, made of concrete and glass, conceals innovations.

It is supported by walls on which a set of “full and empty” is articulated according to the water levels.

It houses the lock keeper's post, where the decoration and the desk are still in place, as well as the mechanical equipment.

The administrative building is surmounted "by a roof in the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid, very innovative at the time," explains Jean Laurent Kistler.

It was reserved for customs and navigation offices.

Particularly welcome help

Problem, in February 2019, after an analysis of the damage, these two buildings were recognized in danger.

The Patronage Mission of VNF and the Heritage Foundation then launched for the very first time a call for donations for its restoration and ultimately to welcome the general public, still in progress but which capped at 2,300 euros ... heritage is therefore welcome, all the more so as the cost of restoring the two buildings is estimated at one million euros. It remains to mobilize corporate sponsorship and institutions.

Concretely, the renovation of concrete, walls, doors, windows and floors is planned, which will be redone identically.

“Work should begin by the end of the year,” specifies Jean Laurent Kistler, time to launch a reflection with all the partners on the future of the site after the restoration.

The interiors could be reopened to the public, there is also talk of a project to use its spaces for seminars, or temporary exhibitions.

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