The Place
Bridge house
Concept
Built in 1878 by the managers of the Metz metallurgical factory, the Bridderhaus (Brothers' House) was primarily a hospital. Following the construction of the Emile-Mayrisch Hospital Centre, the Bridderhaus became a care home for retired and disabled people of the ARBED. In 1963, ARBED donated the building to the city of Esch-sur-Alzette, which relegated ownership to the State. The service was provided until 2010 when the building was abandoned.
Since 2018, the Bridderhaus has been included in the Supplementary Inventory of Buildings and enjoys national protection for its marked historical and artistic architectural character. As part of Esch2022 - European Capital of Culture, the city of Esch-sur-Alzette decided to make it an artists' residence. The renovation and transformation works are given to Beng Architects who collaborate closely with the Institut national pour le patrimoine architectural - INPA (anc. Service des sites et monuments nationaux).
The space consists of the historic building and its original annex called Apdikt, an outdoor courtyard and a contemporary ecological wooden extension (Annex) connected by footbridges. There are seven studios for artists' residences (room and creative space), including one for persons with reduced mobility and one for families, as well as five independent workshops, modular exhibition spaces, a large modular room and a common kitchen. The Annex has a residence for people with reduced mobility and a dining room for artists and the public, overlooking the terrace and the outdoor courtyard.
The scenography
Christian Aschman: The decoration of the Salon de Helen Buchholtz at the Bridderhaus is an opportunity for me to combine my passion for space and urban environment, which can be found in my photographs, and my fascination for art, objects, furniture and especially chairs, to create in this recently restored building, an ephemeral place, a soulful place to live in, not that of Helen Buchholtz, but a location where she would for sure have wanted to settle. A space in which we want to linger, to settle down, to start a conversation or to read a few pages in a book.
Sit on chairs recently found in antique shops or on the sofa manufactured by Eric Schumacher and for which fashion designer Laurie Lamborelle created the textiles. For the musical salon, Laurie Lamborelle created curtains based on her own designs and personal embroideries, inspired by weaving techniques from around the world. Old and contemporary fabrics have been transformed to obtain a unique result.
You can also discover a selection of works of art from the art collection of the City of Esch-sur-Alzette, as well as the story of Helen Buchholtz and photographs taken in the ruins of the cellars of the old Buchholtz Breweries in Lallange.
Photo: Christian Aschman
Photo: Christian Aschman
Photo: Christian Aschman
Photo: Christian Aschman