The avant-gardes tended to disappear as their impact on architectural production increased. Becoming progressively more visible, the mutual forces of attraction that exist between economy (marketing), creation (contemporary art) and architecture give rise to a particular aesthetic, as much on the level of construction as on that of the positions adopted. Architects today explore little known territories, where the aesthetic emerges from an action strategy. Notions of the “world-society,” of “cognitive capitalism” call upon the idea of economic warfare. Faced with this state of affairs, the actors of architecture have the responsibility of imagining schemes with the purpose of retaining their singularity.
Born in 1969, Christophe Le Gac is an architect, an art, architecture and cinema critic, and a curator. He teaches at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts TALM (Tours-Angers-Le Mans).
“The worst is never assured, the best, never consented to. This is a good reason to act!”
André Comte-Sponville
“Dare to be oneself, to embrace the degree of power that dwells within us, to say yes to the forces inside us, to create freedom, to consent to the force of destiny, to love necessity, to live and dance, to live and to exult.”
Michel Onfray (after F. W. Nietzsche)
Globalization, accompanied by ideas like “world society,” the elasticity of the world and “cognitive capitalism” evoking the idea of an economic war, is rarely thought of with regard to architectural creation, because, faced with this phenomenon, the actors of this architecture are responsible for imagining schemes with the purpose of retaining their singularity. What is behind this omnipresent globalization? Is it possible to draw positive energy and operational concepts from architecture? The hijacking of “weapons” such as “economic intelligence” and “creative destruction” in the architectural sphere is to be considered pragmatically and symbolically. Like independent cinema, “auteur architecture” is to be valued by its producers as much as by its creators. Let us look at what it is in more detail.
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For Daniel Buren, architecture is an open-air studio. In an exclusive interview with architect Philippe Chiambaretta, he talks about his site-specific work, where art and architecture meet, just like the Nuages Colorés that cover the scales of the 175 Haussmann glass roof.
Andrew Freear runs the Rural Studio program at Auburn School of Architecture (USA). He believes that schools of architecture have an ethical responsibility to train citizen architects who are locally committed to concrete projects and experientially connected to contexts and places. To design an inclusive city, the Studio adopts an experimental field approach, combining analysis of the territory’s endemic problems, understanding of residents’ needs and new construction techniques. Read the full interview published in STREAM 05!
Once a sanctuary for dreams and imagination, nighttime has now been relegated to the mere role of a utilitarian prelude to daytime. Nocturnal realms possess an alchemical power capable of transfiguring our perceptions. However, when viewed through the lens of urban uses, the night also exacerbates inequalities and raises questions about the possibility of achieving an urban night that is accessible to everyone. Exploring the range of possibilities associated with the night reveals it as a space-time where complex interactions are woven that could be revitalized through a chronotopic and inclusive architecture.
Through animation, installation, sculpture and painting, Victor Cord’homme reveals the complexity and tireless workings of an urban system over which humans are losing control. He works on the autonomy of his installations and exhibitions, whose behavior varies according to the audience, invited to interact yet powerless to do so.
The growth in energy consumption and the obsolescence of our infrastructures suggest that by 2030, we’ll have a stock of 60,000 tonnes of end-of-life wind turbines per year. To absorb this material on an industrial scale, we need to invent new ways of producing, consuming and building. With this in mind, the La Paletière project aims to reuse turbine blades – composite materials with multiple properties – by turning them into roofing elements.