The Curie Institute in Paris plans to demolish the Pavillon des Sources, a building where Marie Curie and her colleagues stored radioactive material. The building was part of the Institut du Radium, which has since merged with the Curie Foundation.
According to an article in Chemistry World. The demolition, set to begin with decontamination on 8 January, was publicized by Baptiste Gianeselli, a defender of Parisian heritage. Gianeselli argues that the building was not just for storing waste, but a crucial laboratory for research. He has written to the French Minister of Culture and President Emmanuel Macron to halt the demolition, receiving support from the scientific community.
Marie Curie’s Historic Laboratory Faces Demolition
The Pavillon des Sources, a building in Paris where Marie Skłodowska-Curie and her colleagues stored radioactive material while working at the Institut du Radium from 1914 until her death, is under threat of demolition. The building is part of the original Institut du Radium, which has since merged with the Curie Foundation to form the Curie Institute. The Curie Institute, the current owner of the site, plans to replace the historic building with a five-story office building.
The Pavillon des Sources was constructed between 1911 and 1914 by the University of Paris and the Pasteur Institute specifically for Curie’s work. It was built separately from the other two laboratories on the site due to the nature of its use – preparing radioactive sources and storing the most active elements that could interfere with work in the main building.
Controversy Over Demolition Plans
The demolition plans, set to begin with decontamination of the building on 8 January, were brought to public attention by Baptiste Gianeselli, a defender of Parisian heritage. Gianeselli discovered the demolition permit on the gates of the Musée Curie and has since delved into the history of the building, sharing accounts on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Gianeselli argues that the Pavillon des Sources was not just a place for storing waste, as the Institut Curie claims, but a “temple” for the conservation of precious raw materials and an essential laboratory for all the research carried out at the Curie Laboratory. He asserts that without the Pavillon des Sources, Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie would not have been able to discover artificial and induced radioactivity, for which they were awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1935.
Curie Institute’s Response
However, Thierry Philip, the president of the Curie Institute, disputes Gianeselli’s claims. He states that the Pavillon des Sources was not a laboratory of Marie Curie, but a place where she stored radioactive material. He also assures that the adjoining garden, where Curie reportedly planted plane trees, lindens and rose bushes, would not be at risk with the new building project.
Philip maintains that the Curie Institute remains “totally committed” to the memory of Marie Curie and that the focus should be on science, not a 100m2 building. He added that if the Ministry of Culture did not agree to the demolition and construction of the new office building, the Pavillon des Sources would remain closed.
Efforts to Preserve the Building
In an attempt to halt the demolition and preserve the building, Gianeselli has written to the French minister of culture and French president, Emmanual Macron, receiving support both inside and outside the scientific community. He is optimistic that the building can still be saved and believes that the Institut Curie has a duty to preserve the memory of Marie Curie and her family with these buildings.
The Ministry of Culture, having received numerous documents and elements demonstrating the value of the building from Gianeselli, is reportedly doing its utmost to find the best possible outcome. The final decision on the fate of the Pavillon des Sources remains to be seen.
“It is not true to say it is a laboratory of Marie Curie. The Marie Curie laboratory is now a free museum, called Pavillon Curie. In front of that you have the Pavillon Pasteur which is where Claudius Regaud would treat patients with Marie Curie’s discoveries. And after that we have the Pavillon des Sources – 100m2, full of radioactivity, and impossible to enter since five years. It is not of any interest. It was a place where she stocked radioactive material,” says Thierry Philip, the president of the Curie Institute.
Summary
The Pavillon des Sources, a building where Marie Skłodowska-Curie stored radioactive material and conducted research, is facing potential demolition to make way for a new office building according to Chemistry World. Despite objections from heritage defenders who argue the building holds significant historical value, the Curie Institute, which owns the site, maintains that the building is not of interest and is committed to preserving Curie’s memory through their ongoing scientific work.
- The Pavillon des Sources, a building where Marie Skłodowska-Curie and her colleagues stored radioactive material, may soon be demolished to make way for a new office building.
- The building is part of the Institut du Radium, which has since merged with the Curie Foundation to form the Curie Institute.
- The Curie Institute, which owns the site, plans to create office space and meeting rooms for researchers.
- The Pavillon des Sources was built separately from the other laboratories due to the interference of radioactive elements with physicists’ work.
- The demolition plans were publicised by Baptiste Gianeselli, a defender of Parisian heritage, who argues that the building is of major heritage interest.
- Gianeselli has shared historical accounts of the building’s use, arguing that it was not just a waste storage site, but a crucial laboratory for research.
- The president of the Curie Institute, Thierry Philip, however, maintains that the building was primarily used for storing radioactive material and is not of significant interest.
- Gianeselli has written to the French minister of culture and French president, Emmanual Macron, in an attempt to halt the demolition.
- Philip insists that the Curie Institute remains committed to the memory of Marie Curie and that the new building project will not compromise the adjoining garden.