As part of the Paris Animal exhibition currently on show at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal in Paris, the two curating architects, Léa Mosconi and Henri Bony, look back at the genesis of their project: to retrace the history that links animals to the capital’s urban fabric.
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In this exclusive interview, Björn Geldhof, director of the PinchuckArtCentre in Kyiv, looks at the evolution of the centre’s cultural programming since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. From an institutional space whose primary role was to open up the country to the world, the centre has evolved into a platform for committed and activist research, carrying the voice of Ukraine throughout Europe. By using art to document the conflict, the PinchukArtCentre uses a factual approach to raise awareness in the spheres of opinion and decision-making, thus affirming its role as the country’s ‘artistic arm’.
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!
Over the span of several months, students from GOBELINS Paris scouted La Défense, examining the iconic business district from the fresh perspective of urban metabolism. As part of a documentary workshop led by Pierre-Jérôme Jehel and Laetitia Guillemin (GOBELINS) and designed in partnership with researchers from the City-Metabolism Chair at PSL University, some thirty students explored this territory. They did so by treating it not as a mere backdrop but as a living organism, traversed by flows, tensions, and rhythms, using photography as a tool for revelation. Their projects, located at the crossroads of artistic creation and research, unveil an alternative reading of this mineral space, between invisible flows and underlying tensions. Both sensitive and rigorous, this inquiry is chronicled here by Corinne Feïss Jehel (EPHE-PSL), Pierre-Jérôme Jehel, and Émilie d’Orgeix (EPHE-PSL) as part of a research project conducted by the City-Metabolism Chair (which is financially supported by PCA-STREAM, Artelia, and Groupama Immobilier).
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.
Raphaëlle Guidée is a specialist in narrative representations of economic, environmental and societal collapse. For over 10 years, she has analyzed the narratives surrounding Detroit’s bankruptcy in order to understand how an apparent ruin of capitalism can inspire discourses of domination or resistance. In La ville d’après : Détroit, une enquête narrative [The Aftermath City: Detroit, a narrative investigation] (Flammarion), rather than focusing on fictions, she seeks out testimonies and concrete stories, believing that modern times don’t need new narratives. We simply need alternative narratives. Read the transcription of her podcast below.
L’agence PCA-STREAM dirigée par l’architecte Philippe Chiambaretta a signé en 2006 le projet de réhabilitation d’un immeuble tertiaire destiné à accueillir le tout nouveau Centre d’Art Contemporain de Kiyv. Le projet architectural s’est construit en parallèle du positionnement éditorial et de la constitution de la collection, en collaboration étroite avec le mécène du projet Viktor Pinchuk et le curateur Nicolas Bourriaud. Retour sur la genèse de ce projet ambitieux, destiné à ouvrir l’Ukraine sur le Monde.