Meditation Space, UNESCO

UNESCO commissioned the Meditation Space for its fiftieth anniversary, and Tadao Ando completed it in 1995. The brief asked for a "space of meditation" for peace in the world, beyond all religions.

The site lies within the headquarters designed by Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer and Pier Luigi Nervi, between the south end of the main building and the conference centre, next to Isamu Noguchi's Japanese garden. The first step was to restore that garden, then in a state of disrepair. The project's theme: how, while respecting the existing surroundings, to express a strong, independent will.

Until the opening of Château La Coste in 2011, then of the Bourse de Commerce in Paris in 2021, it remained for a long time Ando's only completed work in France.

The pavilion is a reinforced concrete cylinder 6.3 m in diameter and in height, a massive volume pierced only by the entrances and by a perimeter skylight slit that seems to float above the interior. Two large openings let the wind in.

It sits slightly below the main building, at the end of a ramp of several flights. Two walls separate the site from the neighbouring spaces, and the project included a body of water descending towards the pavilion along the lie of the land. The ramp formerly crossed a water mirror.

Stone exposed to radiation, a gift from the city of Hiroshima, was laid on the floor and at the bottom of the pond, to recall the horror of war and invite introspection. These granite slabs came from the Hiroshima site and were decontaminated before being installed.

Inside, empty apart from metal chairs, little distracts: dots on the walls, traces of the concrete casting, and a shaft of light falling through the gap between the walls and the ceiling. Sounds travel around the circle of the walls; at the centre, the body resonates.

It is a place of quiet reflection: Tadao Ando designed it so that anyone, whatever their religion, can pause there for a moment of silent contemplation. It is part of the guided tour of the headquarters, after Noguchi's Japanese garden.

The Meditation Space is seen on the guided tour of UNESCO's headquarters (1 h 30), which runs from Isamu Noguchi's Japanese garden to the meditation space. Reservation is compulsory and no tickets are sold on site: participants' names and dates of birth must be sent at least 3 days ahead, and photo ID is required on the day. The route can change without notice depending on the conference programme and security.

Address: 7 place de Fontenoy, Paris 7th; Ségur metro station (line 10).