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2001, Acciaio Arte Architettura
The Beaubourg is an exceptional icon (in steel) from the XX century, 'cultural condenser', which invites us to check out its special architectural contents: the image and functions.
Unpublished
Beaubourg Revisited1979 •
Account of a visit to Beaubourg three years after its opening. Observations of use and review of recent press commentary.
Architecture_MPS
‘Le geste architectural’; Symbolism and authority in the case of the Centre Beaubourg2018 •
Architecture seems often imbued with the notion of “gesture.” The term is mentioned in abundance both when architecture is seen as a discipline and when it is seen as a social practice. Arguments about it can be found in an artefact as well as in an act of design. In this context it may be revealed as an object to be claimed (i.e., a fetish), or stand for a trace or a carrier of meaning. Thus, in a wider scope, gesture may be discussed as a persistent – if not necessary – theme in the field’s culture. This essay examines “gesture” as a mediator between society (including culture and power) and the practice of architecture. This will be discussed within the framework of the competition for the Centre Beaubourg (later known as Centre Georges Pompidou). The heated discourse revolving around the expression “le geste architectural,” including the proposal to design the building literally as an open hand and thereby as a gesture of offering, will be explored. We will thus show how “gesture” simultaneously creates a multifaceted existence: at once as a token of validity and a symbol of truth and beauty, as well as representing the very danger of banality. Furthermore, we will show how the Centre itself – to which was attributed the character of a feat – becomes a “political gesture” carrying the sperm that spawned the type of “heroic architecture” that is so distinctive to the Fifth Republic. Finally, we will revisit “gesture” as a token taking part in a conundrum where the modern ideal ends up substituting genuineness with genius; and we will see this binary relationship in connection to all the “gestures” we discuss in the case of the Centre Beaubourg. On these premises we will propose that, before we ask to define “gesture” by its content, it is important to see it first and foremost for what it does; namely, that it acts as a nominator, and thereby as a mediator, and even a weaver, of the collective between architecture and society. This shift in perspective is critical, as it reveals that gesture plays a more dynamic role than any doctrine would like to have it. Ultimately, we hope to show that gesture can be seen as taking an integral part in the very fabric of architecture, instead of merely playjng a role in one of its many histories. This essay is based on existing literature as well as original research conducted in the archives of the Centre Georges Pompidou – to which we extend our gratitude for the access.
Canadian Architect
National Treasure: Pavillon d’accueil de l’Assemblée Nationale du Québec, Quebec City, Quebec2019 •
Quebec’s motto, “Je me souviens,” appeared for the first time—carved in stone—as part of Eugène-Étienne Taché’s elaborate façade for the province’s Parliament Building in Quebec City. The 19th-century building continues to blend architecture and politics in the present-day, with an impressive addition opened in May. The project is both a complex and careful intervention to what is certainly one of the most symbolically important heritage buildings in the province. (https://www.canadianarchitect.com/national-treasure-pavillon-daccueil-de-lassemblee-nationale-du-quebec-quebec-city-quebec/)
The Worlds of Villard de Honnecourt: The Portfolio, Medieval Technology, and Gothic Monuments
The Worlds of Villard de Honnecourt: The Portfolio, Medieval Technology, and Gothic Monuments2023 •
2012 •
There is a long history of thinking about materiality and temporality through flux and flow. The question then is how do we envision such incessant movement? Michel Serres derives this sort of materiality from the physics of Lucretius that sees the apparent stability of the world as an illusion caused by the turbidity of incessant flows, as the flow becomes turbulent it leads to 'vortices in which the atoms combine to form a quasi-stable order’ forming a world out of the myriad combinations of atoms arising from chance encounters so we need to set ‘aside the principles and habits of thinking in terms of solids and treats atoms as the condition for a theory of flow’ (Webb, 2006: 127). The world is constantly in flow, just some of it at a very slow rate, and full then of nonorganic life as De Landa (1992) argued. Such an approach highlights not things moving through empty space, but the world as becoming-things. The focus of this essay is though a negative becoming, or a sense of ...
2021 •
The port of Le Havre was redeveloped by Auguste Perret with a central Arts Centre by Oscar Niemeyer. The urban design blends ideas from the modern movement with more traditional axes and framing devices and a strong pedestrian scale. The scale is predominantly European with a variety of accent landmark and taller buildings. An illustrated discussion follows.
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National Identities
Plotting against our Nation: COVID 19, Nationalisms and Conspiracy Theories in five European Countries2024 •
Acta Orientalia Vilnensia
Japan as fashion: Contemporary reflections on being fashionable2011 •
Diseño Estratégico. Guía metodológica
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LES COL·LECTIVITATS AGRÍCOLES AL PENEDÈS (1936-1939)
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Medical economics
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1996 •
De Gruyter eBooks
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