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Christiane Schmuckle-Mollard Celebrates WMF Knoll Modernism Prize in Paris

The French architect received the 2018 prize for her restoration of the Karl Marx School.

Christiane Schmuckle-Mollard, recipient of the 2018 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize, celebrated her award for the outstanding preservation of the Karl Marx School in Villejuif at reception for the French architecture community and associates of Knoll Europe held at the Academy of Architecture in Paris. The biannual prize recognizes architects or designers who have demonstrated innovative solutions to preserve or save threatened modern architecture. The reception was held in honor of Schmuckle-Mollard, whose project involved seven years of research and three years of physical restoration of the Modernist monument.

2018 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize Winner Architectural Digest

From left to right: Paris-based Florence Laterrade, Head of KnollStudio; London-based Graham Jones, Senior Vice President, Knoll Office; and 2018 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize-winner Christiane Schmuckle-Mollard.

The Karl Marx School was designed and constructed by André Lurçat according to the functionalist principles that emphasized the logic and simplicity of forms. It was described as “the most beautiful school in France” upon its inauguration in 1933. By the 1990s, though continuously occupied since opening, the poorly maintained complex was in danger of being lost. In 1996, the Karl Marx School was listed as a National Historical Monument in France, bringing new resources to undertake a restoration that would preserve the integrity of the structures while adapting them to new regulations.

“Restoration under the guidance of Agence Christiane Schmuckle-Mollard not only took on the challenges of recovering the interconnected interior and exterior spaces in the context of changing educational practices and standards, but recovered as well the lost color scheme of the building. It resonates today with the idealism and optimism of its original creators, the municipality and the architect through this sensitive and erudite restoration,” said Barry Bergdoll, jury chair of the 2018 WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize of the Karl Marx School.