Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2014

School of Dance and Choreography

The Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning, Washington DC, proposes for their Graduate Studio in Paris 14 a studio exploring and proposing an urban School of Dance and Performance Space based upon the teaching of a specific dance choreographer. The School will accommodate the need for archiving, restoring and presenting the work of the choreographer for public study as well as entertainment. It will also include an exterior landscaped dance stage park further exploring the choreographer’s work as a means of informing a specific public space. 

The city of Paris has also long been known as a center for the exploration and presentation of modern dance, home to many internationally known dance choreographers as well as providing prominent venues for their presentation.  One of the word’s leading ballet companies is housed in the beautifully restored Opera by Garnier en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier. The company’s work is well documented in the recent film La Danse-Le Ballet de l’Opera de Paris made by the director Frederick Wiseman (2009). “The film shows the work involved in administering the company and the coordinated and collaborative work of choreographers, ballet masters, dancers, musicians, and costume, set, and lighting designers.” The building will be visited during the course of the studio. 

 However, some believe that Paris, home to many international dance performances, has lost it’s edge and only recently, new schools of dance are providing a catalyst to a city that celebrates the arts in all its many forms. Thus this year’s Paris Studio 14 will focus on exploring the relationship between Architecture and Dance Choreography and explore the design issues shared in common between these two distinct but dynamic and creative activities. Students will further their research in the libraries of the prestigious Pompidou Center in Paris and explore a design activity that shares with architecture many common interests, such as the body at rest, the body in motion, the ever unfolding relationship between dancers, involvement of the spectators, lighting, set, use of cinema on stage, use of existing environments, etc.

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2013

Museum of Cinema take Two

The Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning, Washington DC, proposes for their Graduate Studio in Paris 13 a studio workshop involving a Museum of Cinema or Musee du Cinema, further focused on works commenting upon the urban and rural landscape, both past, present or proposed. The Museum will accommodate the need for collecting, archiving, restoring, presenting and exhibiting film and digital media to the public for study as well as amusement. It will also include an exterior landscape park further exploring cinamatique media as part of the public space. It will be inspired by the work of a particular film director studied in the phase 1.

Cinema can never escape its context, whether it is found, altered or invented. Although architectural settings have always existed as mere back-drops for the director’s tale, often these landscapes move upstage, become a supporting actor, the principle protagonist or even the main story itself. When this occurs, film director and architect, scenographer and designer, end up manipulating the same material in order to orchestrate similar events. Even though architect and filmmaker work in different media if not in different worlds, sometimes our work crosses over and we both end up in the same business, the business of inventing a context, real or imagined, a container for life’s unfolding narrative.

Stanley Ira Hallet from the preliminary draft of the preface, Architecture and the Moving Image

The city of Paris has also long been known for her motion picture industry, housing many internationally known film directors as well as providing prominent centers to archive and present a long history of films. Most well known is the Paris Cinemateque located in a transformed Frank Geary building in Bercy Parc. Thus this year’s Paris Studio 13 will focus on exploring the relationship between Architecture and the Moving Image and will explore the design issues shared in common between these two distinct but dynamic and creative activities. Students will further their research in the libraries of the prestigious Cinemateque and the Cité d’architecture in Paris and explore a design activity that shares with architecture many common interests, such as context, framing, cutting or montage, lighting, sound, use of color, detail, position of the spectator, movement through film-space, narrative, etc.

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2012

Fashion Design

A center for a “master” sylist

The city of Paris has also long been known for her dynamic fashion industry, housing many internationally known fashion designers (stylists) as well as providing prominent centers for the collections of international designers to gather and exhibit their latest work. (See Paris week located in Tuilerries garden).  Thus this year’s Paris Studio 12 will focus on exploring the relationship between Architecture and Fashion Design and will explore the design issues shared in common between two dynamic and creative activities. By collaborating with the prestigious l’Institute francais de la mode and the renowned Musée de les arts decoratifs in Paris our students will become familiar with a design activity that shares with architecture many interests, such as the elements of materials and their fabrication, color and texture found in architecture as well as the act of commenting upon, wrapping and sheltering and celebrating  the human body. See the citation below by Wikapedia:

A fashion capital (or fashion city) is a city which is a major centre for the fashion industry. In such a city activities including the production and retail of fashion goods, fashion events (such as fashion weeks and awards) and trade fairs will generate significant economic activity.

Besides having economic power, a fashion city is integrated with an active entertainment and cultural scene, and thereby attracts tourists and consumers not only because of fashion per se. A fashion city should be an object of inspiration for the professionals based there, with an active, vivid, strong, unique subculture, that can inspire not only fashion professionals, but also the people in the city, turning the Street style and the street culture into essential characteristics. This mix of fashion, business, entertainment, culture, and leisure makes a city attractive and internationally recognized as fashion centers for their unique and strong identity, differentiating themselves due to specific characteristics.[1]  Citation from Wikapedia

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2011

An Urban Bath Retreat

This year’s Paris Studio 11 will focus on an Urban Retreat, a place for city dwellers to retreat within the urban fabric for a period of one week to soak their bodies in a bath complex, sleep over in the most private of hotel rooms, eat well but carefully prepared, healthy meals and relax in an oasis garden where sky, plant life and water explore innovative combinations of open green space and dwelling space. All of this will take place on a very limited site where every square meter of surface must be taken full advantage of.

 An urban site has been found in Paris and is illustrated on the accompanying Google aerial view. Limited in size and surrounded by buildings of varying heights and activities, the student will be challenged to explore strategies to achieve distance and separation from the urban street and in so doing achieve a contrasting serenity to the busy urban street. And yet, something must be also given to the street, suggesting what might lie behind while at the same time maintaining the vibrant street edge Paris is known for.   If possible an alternative site in one of the French cities visited on the earlier fieldtrip can be considered.

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2010

Urban HOusing above the train tracks

This year’s Paris Studio 11 will focus on an Urban Retreat, a place for city dwellers to retreat within the urban fabric for a period of one week to soak their bodies in a bath complex, sleep over in the most private of hotel rooms, eat well but carefully prepared, healthy meals and relax in an oasis garden where sky, plant life and water explore innovative combinations of open green space and dwelling space. All of this will take place on a very limited site where every square meter of surface must be taken full advantage of.

An urban site has been found in Paris and is illustrated on the accompanying Google aerial view. Limited in size and surrounded by buildings of varying heights and activities, the student will be challenged to explore strategies to achieve distance and separation from the urban street and in so doing achieve a contrasting serenity to the busy urban street. And yet, something must be also given to the street, suggesting what might lie behind while at the same time maintaining the vibrant street edge Paris is known for.   If possible an alternative site in one of the French cities visited on the earlier fieldtrip can be considered.

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2009

French Culinary INstitute

The collaborative studio proposes a project involving a French Culinary Institute. One site is located in Paris in the Parc Bercy and the other site will be placed in Lyon, to be further defined and selected following the studio’s field visit to Lyon. Both sites will accommodate a demonstration “kitchen garden”, an open food market, one part permanent the other expanded for special festivals, several bakeries and restaurants specializing in the menus of the school, a research library and media center to support research on food preparation, class rooms, a small theater for discussion and presentations and finally, special tasting rooms. Lodging for visiting chefs and scholars will also be provided.

Special research:

Before the French/American charrette, American student teams will be charged to explore in detail and report upon certain aspects of the French Cuisine, food production, distribution, preparation and consumption.  This investigation will be conducted in three locations: 

The first will be a morning guided visit to le Marché de Rungis. Starting very early in the morning we will have a guided tour of one of the worlds largest and newest centers of high quality foods serving the restaurants and hotels of Paris. We will have a guided visit to four of the five “worlds” constituting the marché. They are fish, meat, fruit and vegetables and finally milk products. The exact date and time will be determined at a later date, most probably a Thursday morning. Please visit their web site at www.rungisinternational.com

The second will be assigned team visits consisting of two students per team, to record the setting up, morning activities and final demounting and cleanup of one of the following list of Paris open-markets. The team will also record in detail food stands devoted to a specific types of food to be also assigned to the various teams.

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2008

Museum of Wine

The Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning, Washington DC, proposes for their Graduate Studio in Paris 08 a joint studio workshop in collaboration with students in architecture from Ecole Spéciale de l’Architecture. It will consist of 17 English speaking French architecture students joining 17 CUA School of Architecture and Planning students during a ten day long workshop. French students would work side by side with their American colleagues in two person teams developing and proposing conceptual approaches to the design of a Museum of Wine dedicated to the demonstration of the making of wine and its historic appreciation in France. It also will explore the relationship of the worked landscape, the vineyard and the built intervention: the winery as well as the larger program required of the museum. At the culmination of the workshop, an invited jury of distinguished academics and practioners will review the individual team proposals with one team selected for an award of honor and three teams selected for an award of merit.

Special research:

Before the French/American charrette, American student teams will be charged to explore in detail and report upon the specific stages required in the production and consumption of wine. This investigation will be conducted in three locations: 

The first will occur during the field trip to Bordeaux where students will experience working in a vineyard and attending orchestrated tastings. Both the vineyard at Chateau d’Arsac and the special winery called le Winery located outside the city of Bordeaux will be visited.

The second will occur in a guided tour of the Musée du Vin, a fascinating exhibit covering the historic process of wine making including excellent examples of the traditional tools and vessels used in the process of production and consumption. 

The third will require the use of the extensive architectural library located at the Cité de l’Architecture. Their collection of books, journals and audiovisual media on architectural, landscape and urban planning subjects is extensive and easily accessed.

An award of honor consists of a travel scholarship of $1500 apiece to be given to each member of the two person winning team. Three Awards of Merit consists of a team award of $250.00 per member team to be equally split among the team members. The American member of the team winning the Award of Honor must use his/her travel scholarship to support travel in Europe exploring architectural and urban issues. The French team member of the same team must use his/her award to support a two week trip to Washington DC and New York City to explore similar issues. During this trip, CUA would make every effort to provide access to our faculty, studios, lecture classes and laboratories for observation as well as outline possible site visits to nearby cities such as Philadelphia and New York City.

The collaborative studio proposes a project involving a Museum of Wine. One site is located in Paris the other in Bordeaux. The Museum will accommodate a working vineyard, a winery, laboratories for the testing and further study of wine, a library and media center to support research on wine, class rooms, a small theater for discussion and presentations and finally, tasting rooms and a gourmet restaurant where wine can be appropriately consumed accompanied by an equally sophisticated menu. 

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2007

Museum of Cinema Take One

The Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning, Washington DC, proposes for their Graduate Studio in Paris 07 a joint studio workshop in collaboration with students in architecture from Paris Val de Seine, Ecole d'architecture. This would consist of 14 English speaking French students of architecture joining 14 students from the CUA School of Architecture and Planning during a week plus long workshop where French students would work side by side their American colleagues in two person teams developing and proposing conceptual approaches to the design of a Museum of Cinema dedicated to the role of the urban and rural landscape in cinema.  At the culmination of the workshop, the individual team proposals will be reviewed by an invited jury of distinguished academics and practioners with one team selected for an award of honor and two teams selected for an award of merit.

The collaborative studio proposes a project involving a Museum of Cinema or Musee du Cinema, further focused on works commenting upon the urban and rural landscape, both past, present or proposed. The Museum will accommodate the need for collecting, archiving, restoring, presenting and exhibiting film and digital media to the public for study as well as amusement.

To better prepare ourselves for the design of a Museum of Cinema, students are asked to select a film director from the following list of films to explore potential overlaps between film and architecture (including urban and landscape issues) that could inform our studio proposals. While additional films can be added to the list, any suggestions should be approved by the studio critics.

Select any three issues, critical to the filmmaker chosen for study. Such topics could be more readily found in the world of film, and equally shared in architecture, such as: context, framing, cutting or montage, lighting, sound, use of color, detail, position of camera, movement through film-space, narrative, etc. Rudolph Asrnheim lists similar issues found in art that apply equally to film and architecture such as balance, shape, form, growth, space, light, color, movement, tension and extension. In other words, film works could explore the use of historic, contemporary or future film contexts. The architecture of the set or the setting, the architecture of the frame or framing, the movement of the shot, the assemblage of frames, communicating or commenting upon architecture in film and film space versus architectural space.

Again, our goal is to identify, analyze and present to our colleagues one single issue, preferably one that can inspire our work. Perhaps the Museum of Cinema will be eventually named after the directors chosen in phase one and special library collections, archives and exhibits will further emphasize the unique contributions to cinema made by the film director.

Foreign Studies Paris Studio 2007-2012

Analytiques from Paris

September in Paris is an extraordinary time to explore the nooks and crannies of one of Europe's truly extraordinary cities. While a seminar in Urban Theory will provide a more comprehensive and historic overview of the urban development of Paris and a second seminar in the History of the Detail will focus on specific engineering marvels, materials and their assembly through the ages and their historic relationship with the culture that invents and builds them, we will visit specific sites that could inform our studio project, a Museum of Cinema. In as much as the museum will be dedicated to the cinema and its use of the city, its buildings, streets, plazas, parks, gardens and buildings as a backdrop or protagonist, our first weeks in Paris will explore specific sites, buildings and landscapes that could further inform our own proposals.

Parc Citroén and the greenhouses

Architect: Patrick Berger

Landscape architects: Giles Clement And Viguier-Jody Partnership and Alain Provost

One of the most challenging organizations of an urban landscape providing a great front yard to the expansive housing development taking place on both sides. "Following an inconclusive competition, two teams of architects and landscape consultants were selected to work together on the design of the park. Their original competition submissions were broadly similar, but for logistical reasons, the site was split into two complementary parts. Patrick Berger, in collaboration with landscape architect Gilles Clement, undertook responsibility for the northern section, encompassing the white garden, two large greenhouses, six thematic, serial gardens and the garden in movement. The Viguier-Jodry Partnership, together with Alain Provost, concentrated on the southern half, including the black garden and gardens of metamorphosis, the central parterre and its frame of water, and the water lilies in the canal."

Musee du quai Branly, www.quaibrnly.fr/   Also known as Musee des Arts Premiers

Architecture by Jean Nouvel www.jeannouvel.com/

Landscape by Patrick Blanc (mur vegetal) http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/

An extraordinary approach to museum exhibit making use of the talents of a film scenographer, Light, spatial organizations, furniture and exhibit design are all developed within a single design strategy that is very effective. Surrounding the building is the historic Jardin des Plantes holding several great greenhouses worth visiting.

Parc de la  Villette www.villette.com/us/mainprog.htm www.villette.com/

Master plan and small follies by Bernard Tschumi

Cite des sciences et technologies http://www.cite-sciences.fr/english/indexFLASH.htm

An extraordinary collection of museums and gardens where planning, building, exhibition and landscape strategies are pushed to the limit. The Parc de la Villette is a park in Paris at the outer edge of the 19th arrondissement, bordering Seine-Saint-Denis. It was designed by Bernard Tschumi. At 25 hectares, these former slaughterhouse grounds constitute the largest park in the city of Paris and its second largest green space (after the Père Lachaise cemetery). The park houses public facilities devoted to science and music, and many follies. Tschumi won a major design competition for the park and discussed his design proposal with Jacques Derrida. From Wikipedia

The Viaduc des Artes et Promenade Plantee

Architect: Patrick Berger for the buildings below

The Promenade was designed by Jacques Vergely (landscape architect) and Philippe Mathieux (architect). Conceived in 1858 as part of Napoleon III and Haussmann's Paris Improvements the Viaduc was restored and transformed into a 4.5-kilometer garden promenade, perhaps 8 meters wide, built on top of the restored arcades now holding the studios of various craftsmen. The walkway, linear in form, can be thought of as a cinema/film with views and events unfolding in space and time. Once again another relationship between building and the landscape, but also between the city fabric and the landscape/garden is presented.

Parc de Bercy

Parc design by urbanists Bernard Huet, Marylene Farrand, Jean-Pierre Feugas, Bernard Lercy and landscape architect Ian Le Caisne.

The history of the once American Center by Frank G. Geary and the building's transformation into a Cinemateque is of great interest to the programmatic challenges of our studio problem, a film museum. The adjacent Parc de Bercy also posits a number of landscape strategies and use of outdoor space worth considering in the development of your own project. Unfortunately, the Cinemateque appears to make little use of the gardens to further its own role in the park.

Place des Vogses

Architect Baptiste de Cerceau.

Originally called Place Royale, it was inaugurated in 1604 on land owned by King Henry IV. and was once the the site of l’Hôtel Tournelle. Henry IV was only concerned with the facades , not the buildings behind them. The royal park was used for jousting, carousels and weddings. It became the model for other areas across Paris as well as Europe. Today, although it appears seemingly simple with the regularity of the facades and the shape of a true square. Place des Vosges is an informal, comfortable gathering place enjoyed by Parisians at all times of the day and seasons.

Musee d'histoire Naturelle www.mnhn.fr and Jardin des plantes

Architect: Paul Chemetov and Borja Huidobro

Scenographer: Rene Alli

This is one of the latest museums to be built in Paris and contains several approaches to landscape design as well as interior exhibit design worthy of discussion. Two landscape architects were involved, one for the wall (Blanc) and the other for the areas under and around the building