The pieces are designed to be experienced in conversation with the city of Vierzon, where they each present a conversation with its past, present, inhabitants, and dreams for the future. Integrated within the landscapes of everyday life, the exhibition is divided into four themes: “The Utopia of Territories,” “The Third Feminism,” “Subversive Tenderness,” and “The World Built by Women.” The latter is a parallel exhibition bringing together three French collections (Centre Pompidou, Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, and FRAC Centre-Val de Loire) exploring the works produced by women architects.

The Biennale’s website explains: “The concept of ‘feminist democracy’ that we borrow from author Marie-Cécile Naves gives rise to several questions that lie at the heart of the Biennale: which cities and urbanism programs are devised by and for women? How can their productions emerge from their invisibility? What interpretation of the history of the arts can be seen through the lens of feminisms?”

“Entitled Infinite Freedom, A World for a Feminist Democracy and dedicated to the exclusive invitation of around fifty women artists and architects, the 2022 Biennale of FRAC Centre-Val de Loire is primarily intended as a festival geared towards a new imaginary founded on equality, in which various social, militant, and artistic readings cohabitate, with a view to instilling a new kind of common sense.”

The Utopia of Territories consists of works highlighting new dynamics of participatory democracy, such as women’s marches, set within highly visible urban locations in Vierzon. “While the geography of gender has demonstrated that urban space is a sexed territory where women have always maintained complex relationships with the city, this Biennale is intended as a site of symbolic appropriation,” the organizers explain.

The Third Feminism explores ways in which feminism can maintain its diversity and its heritage of participation in political, social, and anti-colonial struggles as interpreted through art. The organizers add “If this Biennale wants to overcome its singular relationship to the history of art and to use the concept of feminist democracy to update the interpretation of the discipline, it therefore needs to question the new practices of equitable citizenry, the role of women in the creation of cities and territories, while taking into account the specific history of Vierzonnaises.”

Subversive Tenderness focuses on “the contemporary alternative to the modernist avant-garde,” defining tenderness as the juncture between nature and culture. To subvert that is to flip it on its head with an exhibition that “occasionally makes us pay a visit to some of the beings that we refuse to look at. At other times, it reminds us of our recurring temptations to contain freedoms, or twist bodies to injure them. Especially those of women.”

The 2022 Biennale of FRAC is on display through January 1st, 2023, and a map of the public works can be found on the FRAC Centre-Val de Loire website.

The post 55 Women Artists Showcased in the Exhibit “Infinite Freedom, A World for Feminist Democracy” first appeared on Dornob.

The translucent white shingles are counter-weighted and attached to the exterior of an open-air gabled building frame using bolts that allow them to flutter up and down. When the wind blows or rain falls onto the shingles, they move, either slowly or rapidly, all together or in waves. This “shivering” makes the cabin seem like it’s directly responding to the weather conditions.

“She seems to have a personality: sometimes calm when the breeze seems to make her breathe, sometimes angry when the gusts agitate her in all directions…This animal character binds us to her and encourages us to spend time on the spot to observe its constant transformation,” the designers explain.

“It anchors visitors in the present moment. Its movements allow us to see, hear, and feel the wind more acutely. We are also connected to the surrounding trees, whose simultaneous agitation we perceive more clearly. Thus, Shiver House makes us aware of the natural world around us. By anchoring us in the present time and connecting us to nature, this cabin does us good!”

The movement keeps the installation in a constant state of transformation, holding visitors’ attention and hopefully creating a closer emotional link between them and the natural world where the hut is located. The structure builds on the success of previous iterations of Shiver House installed in Finland. This one is designed for longer-term use, and will sit within the park of Louvre-Lens for years to come.

The installation is the result of a collaboration between engineers Elliott Wood, NEON, and Odysee des Cabanes, a project that invites architects, landscape architects, designers, and visual artists to interpret landscapes through specially designed cabins, offering users the possibility of sharing moments of play, relaxation, discovery, or discussion.

NEON artist Viliina Koivisto and architect Mark Nixon founded their studio as a way to encourage playful interaction between art and everyday people. “We empathize and listen to ensure our projects resonate with people who use them,” they say. “We manipulate familiar materials in ways previously unimagined. We design with every sense in mind. We deliver once-in-a-lifetime emotional experiences.”

Inaugurated in 2012, the Louvre-Lens was created as a new off-site museum where an innovative approach to art could be developed from scratch. Located in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, the museum was designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa from Japanese architecture studio Sanaa, and its main exhibition space, the Galerie du Temps, houses over 200 artworks on loan from the Louvre in Paris. Additional works like Shiver House V2 are located on its grounds.

The post Shiver House: Animal-Like Kinetic Structure Flutters in Response to Wind and Rain first appeared on Dornob.

Dylan says the artwork “represents perception and reality at the same time… all the iron is decontextualized to represent peace, serenity, and stillness.” He says the work also contains “enormous energy… it represents the illusions of a journey rather than the contemplation of one.”

Dylan’s Rail Car is a continuation of a series of pieces the musician has crafted using welded metal. The first shown publicly was a set of iron gates entitled Mood Swings, displayed at London’s Halcyon Gallery in 2013. Others include Portal, an iron archway made for a casino in Maryland, and a gate controversially purchased by the U.S. State Department in 2019 for $84,375.

Railway motifs have special meaning for Dylan, with many references to railroads appearing throughout the singer’s discography. Songs include “Slow Train”, “Railroad Boy”, “Train A-Travelin’”, “Mean Old Railroad”, and more alongside Dylan’s legendary 1975 album, “Blood on the Tracks”. In “Freight Train Blues”, Dylan writes, “Well, the only thing that makes me laugh again / is a southbound whistle on a southbound train.”

In his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan wrote “I’d seen and heard trains from my earliest childhood days and the sight and sound of them always made me feel secure. The big boxcars, the iron ore cars, freight cars, passenger trains, Pullman cars. There was no place you could go in my hometown without at least some part of the day having to stop at intersections and wait for the long trains to pass.”

Other train-themed artworks by Dylan include a series of sketches called The Drawn Blank Series, created between 1989 and 1992. For the 10th anniversary of the release of his 2008 album “Train Tracks”, Dylan added more drawings to the series, adopting a bolder visual style. The full collection can be seen at Castle Fine Art.

Located about 15 kilometers north of Aix-en-Provence, Chateau La Coste is a 600-acre estate featuring 34 site-specific works of art, small buildings, and pavilions by artists and architects like Frank Gehry, Yoko Ono, Jenny Holzer, Ai Weiwei, and Tadao Ando. The Art and Architecture walk takes guests on a relaxing two-hour tour of these pieces, ending at the winery designed by Jean Nouvel. Ando’s building houses a small gallery, bookshop, café, and restaurant. Among the most notable sculptures in the garden are Louise Bourgeois’s giant Crouching Spider (2007) and Alexander Calder’s Small Crinkly (1976).

If the south of France isn’t exactly on your list of upcoming travel destinations, you can enjoy the artworks on display at Chateau La Coste through the estate’s website. But if you plan to be in the area anytime soon, don’t miss this stop. The tour is truly an unparalleled experience of spectacular contemporary art by some of the world’s most influential creators.

The post Bob Dylan’s Love Affair with Trains Continues with a Monumental Sculpture in France first appeared on Dornob.

As you might imagine, having access to Pierre Frey’s full catalog of textiles for your own use is a decorator’s dream come true, and the Freys have taken advantage of that ability both in their primary home in Paris and their country home in the Luberon area of Provence.

Elle Decor got a peek into the Freys’ picturesque Luberon home, a stone farmhouse representing a pinnacle of French countryside style. Centuries old, the house previously belonged to Patrick’s parents, and its most notable feature is its original jagged stacked stone walls accented by a clay tile roof.

With all of its texture, character, and sense of history, the stone sets the mood for the home, contrasting with smooth white plaster throughout the interiors. Updating the decor to their own tastes, the Freys wanted to celebrate traditional Provence colors and textures while integrating a touch of modern minimalism.

The couple maintained the rustic character of the house, leaving the stone walls intact and preserving the original floor plan of small rooms. “You have to keep in mind that this house is a maison paysanne at its core — it was a farm in the beginning,” Lorraine says, adding: “I believe that houses should preserve their true history and should remain in their simplicity.”

Pierre Frey textiles bring color, print, and texture to the interiors through curtains and upholstered furniture. A sitting room nestled beneath an original vaulted stone ceiling is awash in soothing neutrals, while the living room features pops of vibrant green. The overall effect is that of harmony and subtlety — and one that avoids too much contrast.

“I only used linen, cotton, piqué — things that are very natural,” Patrick explains. “We played very much with the color, using old hues, to preserve as much of the charm as we could. The same goes for the ceramics, which are painted and rustic. Taken together, it’s all meant to feel a little outside of time.”

Meanwhile, the Frey’s city home in the 6th arrondissement of Paris captures a slightly different feeling, albeit no less harmonious. Saturated jewel tones and eclectic patterns play against the elegance of that apartment’s original millwork. Objects from the couple’s travels are mixed with antiques curated by Patrick’s grandfather René Prou, himself a renowned decorator and artist. A large ottoman in the center of the living room is upholstered in several layers of Pierre Frey textiles inspired by the “galette,” a traditional French pastry.

If the mood of their country home is a little more restrained and tranquil, the Freys’ Paris apartment conveys a sense of playfulness. Clashing patterns and contrasting colors you wouldn’t necessarily think to put together like lavender and mustard are augmented by an abundance of eye-catching decorative objects. There’s certainly no shortage of anything to look at.

“Color is at the heart of European decoration, and one must be daring and playful with color combinations,” Patrick told Home Journal.

The post Peek into Pierre Frey Owners’ Charming French Homes first appeared on Dornob.

The 1300-square-foot apartment is Gautrand’s first private interior design project. Like many Parisian apartments of a similar age, the space started out rather dark, with a lot of small, enclosed rooms. The clients wanted Gautrand to open it up, infuse it with daylight, and make it feel more modern and playful.

“We wanted to break from the ideas and images of Bourgeois Parisian apartments and lean more towards something that is more in the order of a holiday house, like a ‘cabane de plage,’ those small but colorful shelters from which one steps out to the sun and sky,” says the owner. “We wanted to create something that leaned more towards an artistic statement, and not just a historical one. We wanted to use color and we wanted to sculpt the volumes.”

“Sculpt” became the key word for the renovation. Gautrand approached the project almost like an assemblage, slicing out some areas and bringing in new shapes and modes of circulation. Walls were removed and new voids created to take full advantage of the large windows on the eastern and western facades, allowing the light to travel to two levels of living spaces. These spaces were then divided into zones, each with their own particular style and mood.

At the center of the home stands its most memorable feature: a blocky new staircase in a soft shade of pink that makes the yellow wall behind it look even sunnier. Slightly offset from each other, the steps almost start to cantilever out to the left as they reach the landing and turn upward, arching over niches for a fireplace and shelving.

The stairs lead from an intimate, understated living room tucked beneath the loft up to a vivid yellow mezzanine with an angled ceiling, just beneath the roofline of the historic building. This level contains the primary bedroom, a guest bedroom full of built-in storage, a strikingly textural marble-lined bathroom, and a hallway topped with a long, narrow skylight. Best of all, the bedroom opens onto the full-height living room atrium via atelier-style windows.

“The goal was to create a strip of natural light, through which the sun’s influence, whether it be cold white winter light or warm summer, could cast its shadow and influence the interior, upstairs and down, throughout the day,” says Gautrand. “A traditional staircase would have interfered with the continuity of this strip of sky and so I began playing with the relief that these 20-centimeter thick pieces of cellular concrete would make, and the stairs came out of this. Then I decided to make it even bigger, so that it extended up the wall of the mezzanine and onto the wall under the skylight.”

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Having already employed his infrared camera skills in places like New York, Peru, and the Alps to create fantastical versions of well-known scenery, Pettigiani recently took a road trip through France, painting the surrounding geography with a watermelon-colored brush everywhere he went.

“Infraland transforms ordinary places into surreal landscapes unbound by human perception and space that renew the spectators’ idea of the world in order to question reality as we see it,” the artist says on his website. “An invitation to further explore knowledge and human relationships with new points of view and new eyes.”

Pettigiani’s rosy images were inspired by the work of photographer Richard Mosse and his famous Kodak Aeorchrome infrared pictures of soldiers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo a decade ago. In those photos, the soldiers’ uniforms and the African grasses behind them were shifted into various shades of red and pink, mutating “the real” into absurdity and making familiar things seem strange.

Using a digital camera and a filter that blocks light wavelengths less than 590 nanometers, Pettigiani creates a similar effect with landscapes. Through that lens, greens are converted to bubblegum and candy-apple hues, producing a fanciful version of real life.

“Infraland is a long-term project started in 2015 that explores the themes of seeing the unseen, driven by a desire to explore familiar places, breaking the doors of perception through a graphic and visual exploration of the territory. These images are shot using a converted full spectrum camera for infrared photography: a fusion of science and creativity that captures the electromagnetic radiation of light…not visible to the human eye,” Pettigiani explains.

His photos of France help viewers “see” an alternate universe where the leaves of a heart-shaped tree in Provence are actually ruby red and the encompassing lavender fields scream out in fuscia notes. Pettigiani’s travels also took him to Sisteron in the French Alps, where he gave the mountainside and trees a crimson makeover. Similarly, his treatment of the coast of Brittany turns the northern beach into a tropical island with wide wine-colored fronds.

Pettigiani’s take on Versailles is truly show-stopping. The contrast of cotton-candy foliage against the blue of the sky and ponds is striking and enchanting all at the same time. Even the palace doors get done up in flamingo-feather pink.

The artist is currently based in Italy, acting as the art director at No Panic, a creative agency he co-founded. After graduating from Turin’s Politecnico in 2014 with a degree in Design and Visual Communication, he started using his photographic skills to delve into the beauty of light’s unobserved wavelengths. His work, including his ongoing “Infraland” project, has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in Paris, Milan, Turin, and New York City.

Pettigiani has posted many of his French infrared photos on his Instagram.

The post Infrared Photos Turn France into a Cotton Candy Wonderland first appeared on Dornob.

The development stands out even when viewed from afar. Its jagged white rooflines rise from the city streets in an organic-looking jumble, contrasting the neatly organized rows and rectilinear shapes of the buildings around it. In the center is a massive courtyard, all the facades facing it painted with textured red stucco. The building fills its building site all the way to the boundaries, and the roofs are designed with “carefully calibrated” slopes to maximize ventilation and sunlight to both the building itself and its neighbors.

The courtyard inside, developed in collaboration with local architecture firm Flint, is irregularly shaped and measures nearly 56,000 square feet. This park-like green space is actually one level above the street, positioned over the complex’s parking garage, making it feel like a secret garden that’s protected from but still connected to the larger urban context. Planted with 83 alder and birch trees and a variety of grasses, the courtyard opens to the streets through a few different portals.

Within the building, all the irregular slopes of the rooflines and exteriors create interesting, dynamic interior spaces, including apartment layouts that are entirely unique. That results in a wide array of home sizes and shapes, so occupants don’t feel like they’re living in cookie-cutter spaces. Some areas of the buildings are as low as one story, while on the side facing the river, some rise as high as nine. At its peak, the complex features a glass crown housing the restaurant with views of Bordeaux’s historic center.

MVRDV’s Bastide-Niel masterplan will ultimately include three additional developments, aiming to combine all the history Bordeaux has to offer with the density, ecology and comfort, of a modern metropolis. Once completed, this masterplan, developed in collaboration with Joubert Architecture, will see more than 86 acres of former barracks and rail yards converted to public spaces and cultural facilities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic showed everyone how valuable outdoor spaces close to their homes can be, and I hope Ilot Queyries can show that such amenities don’t require compromise,” says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “The building creates close and intimate streets without ugly parked cars thanks to its ample car parking. At the same time every apartment is provided a balcony or loggia, while the green park space becomes a wonderful community amenity.”

“This project served as preparation for the grander plan of the Bastide_Niel development,” adds Maas. “With this project we were able to test some of our ideas, which resulted in a masterplan with more greenery in the streets, better cost optimization for façades, and more open courtyards.”

The post MVRDV’s Ilot Queyries Apartment Building Offers a New Vision of Urban Living first appeared on Dornob.

When architecture firm Studio Razavi was approached to renovate an apartment within one of those historic buildings, they wanted to craft a design that was rooted in the Vieux-Lyon’s historic past, but modernized for its current occupant. The client, a young scientist, lives mostly alone, and needed just one bedroom within the 864-square-foot space, leaving the rest of the apartment open for a generously proportioned living and dining area.

The apartment already had a lot going for it. 14-foot ceilings, oversized oak beams, and two enormous stone fireplaces were among the original features the architects wanted to preserve and celebrate for the new design, contrasting them with modern minimalist interiors and surfaces. To make the space as cohesive and simple as possible, they used nothing but concrete, wood, and rough plasterwork for all of the new walls and arches.

“Relying primarily on the use of a single material with a limited color palette, we designed a series of events so as to create what we refer to as an ‘introspective space,’ a place to allow for reflection, for creative seclusion,” the architects say.

Part of the appeal of the space is the irregularity of the apartment’s footprint, itself a testament to the age of the building. Visible in the architects’ plans, the slight slopes and angles in the walls clearly called for some creative solutions that can subtly help even out the lines and angles within the apartment to keep it from feeling disorienting.

In addition to its single bedroom and bathroom, the newly renovated apartment features a living room, dining room, and kitchen. The archways used throughout the space, from doorways and windows to built-in shelves and niches, echo the Renaissance architectural features outside so the space still feels tied to its historic context. The sleek, uncluttered surfaces and lines are balanced by the weight and texture of the oak beams overhead, and the repeated use of a gorgeous gradient of jade greens gives the home a decidedly tranquil vibe.

The curated color palette is especially striking in the kitchen, where the brightest green shades anchor the cabinetry and single wall-mounted shelf directly beside one of the original fireplaces. Stepped blocks of color echo the stepped shapes built into the recessed bookcase on the opposite wall. The mottling of the plaster surfaces adds a lot of nuance, too – an effect you can mimic in your own home with zero-VOC lime paint, even on ordinary drywall.

The result of this refreshing renovation is a space that feels unified and creative, never lacking anything interesting to look at, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s decorated with restraint and a keen eye for detail. Clearly, mostly-monochromatic interior designs don’t have to be boring.

The post A Renaissance-Era Apartment in France Gets a Curvy Modern Renovation first appeared on Dornob.

There’s a lot to love about quintessential “French Girl” style. As demonstrated by stylish models and influencers like Jeanne Damas (pictured here in her kitchen), Louise Follain, Eleonore Toulin, and Aude-Julie, this laid-back approach to fashion, beauty, and interior design is confidently casual, perfectly imperfect, and effortlessly chic. It’s all about embracing the small joys of everyday life without trying too hard. It’s also clearly distinguished from the kind of traditional mass market “French Country” decor style that’s popular with many Americans, which can oftentimes come off as just a little too fussy.

Freshness First

Extending the French Girl philosophy into the kitchen means being smart with storage in a small space and centering absolutely everything upon fresh-from-the-market food and drinks. If you live like a fashionable Parisian, you’re walking to the boulangerie every day for bread and keeping plenty of fresh produce, cheese, and wine on hand for last-minute entertaining.

That means you’re going to want some bowls and baskets for your fruit, vegetables, and baguettes to place on your kitchen table, counters, shelves, or even hang from the walls, as seen here in an image by Heather Bullard. An iconic woven straw market tote like Milk Street’s Casablanca does triple duty as storage, grocery transport, and even an everyday handbag (á la the original Birkin bag).

Fresh flowers, herbs, and plants are just as important as edibles. Toss together a carefree bouquet with a little bit of lavender and wild greenery and stick it in a vase, changing it out every few days. Let your plants grow long and trailing, tucking the vines around your eclectic wall decor. And speaking of walls, you’ll want to take advantage of your wall and ceiling space as much as possible with pot racks, hanging baskets, peg boards, and open shelving.

Vintage Finds

Who needs matching sets of dishes, kitchen towels, or anything at all, really? It’s way more fun to purchase unique objects as you find them, whether handmade by artisans at local craft stalls or at the thrift store. Mix-and-match style captures that French Girl sense of rock and roll recklessness, like serving your crudités on fine china and flea market saucers at the same time.

When shopping for just the right objects to incorporate into your decor, look for items that stand the test of time. Quality is definitely more important than quantity, and you want objects that are just as functional as they are stylish. Some things to look out for include linens in crisp white or fun prints, handmade ceramics, candlesticks, rustic wood with lots of character, copper pots and pans, and whatever else will look good on all that open shelving. Check out Lou Doillon’s kitchen in this image, captured by Garance Doré, for inspiration.

Classic French Favorites

Just like the Breton striped shirt and beret, some French items might seem stereotypical, but they’re iconic for a reason. That includes Le Creuset cookware, which will last at least a lifetime and is made to be seen, as well as the classic bistro chair and tulip table, which are perfect for slotting into tight spaces. Rejuvenation’s Grove Marble table is a great example, but you can find these all over the place at lower prices, too.

The post 3 Ways to Extend Effortlessly Chic French Girl Style into Your Kitchen first appeared on Dornob.

“Colorama Skatepark,” set in an old 20th-century warehouse renovated by French architect Patrick Bouchain in 2004, is an installation created as part of Lille’s World Capital of Design 2020. Commissioned by La Condition Publique (the cultural institution currently occupying the warehouse), the indoor skatepark fuses the architecture of the space with new ramps and brightly-colored details.

The brick walls are reinvigorated with shoes of peach and pink, overlaid with bold murals in neon green, orange, red, and yellow. The concrete pillars that punctuate the interiors are also colored, making them feel like a more active part of the design of the space. Ilori’s colors and motifs derive, in part, from the details of the building, while the skateable features were developed in collaboration with local skateboarders and Decathlon skateboarding product manager Jean-Philippe Rode.

Those elements include two corner quarter pipes with banked ends, a volcano ramp, and a central hybrid module. All of these obstacles were made using FSC-certified recycled paper from Skatelite, a renowned manufacturer of premium skate ramp surfaces used by pro skaters. If you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of designing a skatepark, using paper for this purpose might sound odd, but Skatelite’s products are weather-resistant and nearly indestructible, designed to deliver a balance of speed and grip.

As you can probably imagine, the way projects like this are carried out has changed substantially due to the pandemic. Ilori participated remotely in the construction process during the coronavirus lockdown, overseeing La Condition Publique’s staff as they built and papered the new indoor skate park.

“It was important for me and La Condition Publique to design a skatepark that was inclusive and not intimidating but inviting for all ages and all levels of skateboarders,” Ilori says. “They really wanted to celebrate one of the different ways La Condition Publique, a cultural venue, can be used to bring people together, and they felt that I could create this experience.”

Colorama aims to engage the growing skater community in Lilles, France, also inviting BMX riders and other urban sports athletes to partake in the fun. Whether they’re engaging in skating, dance, basketball, or parkour, users get to enjoy a highly unique street art-inspired environment. The park opened in September 2020, and in the future, it’ll also host events and classes, including educational and employment opportunities.

“This project also finds its place in la Condition Publique’s will to forge a bond with its neighborhood,” reads the project’s press release. “By inviting neighbors to a warm and family-friendly space dedicated to sports, it allows them to gather together and get to grips with this cultural place, where they may [otherwise] feel as ‘outsiders/outcasts.'”

“La Condition Publique also shelters not less than 20 organizations from cultural and creative sectors and accompanies its neighbors in realizing their projects. In addition to this, it strives to enhance collaboration with the social, urbanistic, and associative actors in Pile, an underprivileged neighborhood in Roubaix where the venue is located. In that respect, la Condition Publique searches to organize rendezvous in various forms in order to generate new dialogs within this community.”

Ilori, who began his practice in 2011 as an upcycled furniture designer, draws many cultural influences together into his trademark visuals, including traditional Nigerian parables and West African fabrics. He likes each piece to tell a story, often bringing “Nigerian verbal traditions into playful conversation with contemporary design.”

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Set to open this spring, the tower will include artist studios, research facilities, workshops, and seminar rooms. The architect took inspiration from limestone cliffs visible at the edges of the city, devising a jagged, irregular silhouette for the building’s exterior. The tower’s 11,000 aluminum panels are set around a concrete and steel structure, with a glass and stone cylindrical base inspired by the city’s Heritage Roman sites. It will also host exhibitions of some of the art world’s biggest names.

The city of Arles is best known in the art world for being home to Vincent Van Gogh during one of the most creatively productive periods of his life, when he created dozens of paintings and hundreds of drawings. But its income is mostly reliant on tourism, and the new arts center could draw in more visitors than ever before, with Gehry’s tower standing as a shimmering central beacon.

The project is located on the site of an abandoned rail yard that’s been vacant since 1986.The Luma Arles Arts Center, already completed, is currently hosting a range of contemporary art exhibits, and its expansion will also include a public park called Parc des Ateliers, designed by Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets.

Maja Hoffman, daughter of art collector and patron Luc Hoffman, heiress to the Hoffmann-La Roche pharmaceutical fortune, and President of the Van Gogh Foundation’s board of directors, envisions the new Luma Arles as a chance for the city she grew up in to transform. More specifically, Hoffmann hopes the center will make Arles an international art world destination.

Bold as they are, Gehry’s works can be controversial, so it’s no surprise that not all the locals are thrilled by the tower’s design. Some argue that the center is, in its own right, enough of a tourist draw, and that the tower is a gaudy, unnecessary addition.

“In fact, the original plan included two towers and was rejected by France’s Commission for Historical Sites and Monuments,” ArtNet reports. “Indeed, visiting the campus in late August, it is clear that the restoration of the existing, defunct workshops is warmly welcomed by locals: the generous exhibition spaces are well-visited, and the restaurant area, embellished with the bright, large-scale pictorial puns of Maurizio Cattelan’s TOILETPAPER, is bustling. And so the nagging question that lingers throughout the visit is ‘why is this tower here?’”

Whether you think Frank Gehry’s constructivist style is dazzling or too flashy by far, it certainly never fails to get attention. The Canadian-born American architect, who resides in Los Angeles, is also known for such landmarks as LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barcelona’s Olympic Fish Pavilion, the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, and Dancing House in Prague.

The post Frank Gehry’s Futuristic Luma Arles Tower to Host Art Studios in Southern France first appeared on Dornob.

It’s one of the most impressive tricks up the sleeve of Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, the eponymous firm of a French architect who’s rapidly gaining attention for interior designs that are as bold and interesting as they are practical. One of Gerlier’s specialties is the “complete transformation” of a classic Parisian apartment, which he’s pulled off more than once. Each time, the flat’s most iconic details (herringbone or parquet flooring, balconies with swirling railings, embellished ceiling moulding) are preserved, with new, graphic modern elements introduced to freshen up the space.

These new elements might include a whole lot of room-brightening white paint, a vividly tiled kitchen floor, windows between interior spaces slashed by diagonal lines, fun patterned radiator screens, or even an exciting color palette.

Of one pied-a-terre competed in 2017, Gerlier writes: “Having lived in this apartment for several years, the owners wanted a total reorganization with the objective of correcting two major defects: too much wasted space in the hallway and lack of light in some of the rooms. The reorganization of the core of the apartment allowed the entry of light via the three facades.”

Clearly, the architect is an expert at reimagining floor plans within small urban apartments. He manages to reorganize one-bedroom units to accommodate two or more bedrooms, and he expands the living room space without making them feel cramped. But it’s the custom carpentry and millwork that really makes these interiors work (not to mention shine).

A Paris renovation completed in 2017 reorganized an apartment “to create an additional bedroom, and to reduce the area of circulation. Particular attention was paid to the choice of furniture, which echoes the customized carpentry work specific to each room.” A pale blue wall in one bedroom contains all necessary functions, including two twin-sized beds, leaving the rest of the room free for movement. You can see how stacking these elements vertically completely changes the feel of the space compared to a more conventional layout with all the furniture on the floor.

For this apartment in Clichy, completed in 2018, Gerlier optimized each and every square inch using a combination of ready-made storage boxes, built-in shelves, nooks, and translucent panels. Many of the clients’ belongings are tucked behind cabinet doors, and the kitchen can be closed off without eliminating sight lines within the apartment, making it feel a lot bigger.

A renovation in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 2019 transforms a former garage of a house into a comfortable apartment with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. Three major strategies are at work here. The first is the creation of circular nooks cut into a wall of storage in the living room, which house a television, two speakers, and a mattress for lounging, echoing other rounded shapes found within the space.

The second is a mirrored wall that visually multiplies the space, and the third is a tightly controlled color palette that extends into the kitchen. The white walls and ceiling help carry limited daylight deep into the apartment, while varied tones of soft salmon pink, mint, and mustard yellow define the mood.

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Services Généraux is a multidisciplinary full service creative bureau founded by an art director and product designer. They consider themselves “Image Makers,” spending their time creating virtual spaces, objects, and images. More concretely, “their constant experimental and creative research practice is reflected in a breadth of: creative direction, architecture, space and object design, graphic design, image making, and video projects.”

Services Généraux has also worked with some giant companies before, including Adidas, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Nike. The aforementioned founders of the studio, Antoine and Valentin, are steeped in mystery, as they do not publish any photographs of themselves or even their last names. “Maison” is their first-ever completely conceptual project.

The “home” is set in the idyllic French countryside. Photos show a backdrop of lush green grass, shrubbery, and trees. The illusion is further intensified by a sunset reflecting off the windows of the imaginary home. “Maison” was inspired by the real-life ruins of a farmhouse, once bustling with life but now a shadow of its former self. Its dilapidated walls provided the studio with a starting point for the design, and their influence can even be spotted in the images of the conceptual home’s exterior walls. The rest of the exterior is made from blocks of concrete that are neutral-toned and varying in color and appearance. Overall, this creates a very natural look — one reminiscent of the very countryside it is set in.

The interior of the home continues the natural motif and is supremely understated. The walls are all beige or off-white, lacking any significant texture. They were purposely left bare to remind viewers that function is always more important than fashion. The bathroom, for example, is beautiful in its simplicity and has nothing outside of the essentials. In the photorealistic images of it, we see a large stone standalone tub. Right above it, there is a wooden window open to the outside world. There’s also a sink of the same natural beige stone, a chair, and a wooden block to rest your towel on. Other than that, all we have is a stool, a bucket, and a cloth for washing up at night.

We’re also given a sneak peak of something we can only assume is a living room, because not much else is going on in it otherwise. Here, there are only three chairs, a fireplace, and some wood to get the fire going. The bedroom mirrors this simplicity, showcasing a bed, a few books, and another fireplace. While there may not be much going in “Maison” entertainment-wise, you still get the feeling that your basic needs and comforts would be met in a home like this. This particular home, while only imaginary, also brings you back to a simpler time.

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The sculpture’s unveiling has been a long time coming. It was originally supposed to be placed near the Palais de Tokyo, but officials worried it would obstruct views of the Eiffel Tower there, spending the next three years arguing about where to put it instead.

The idea first came about when Jane Hartley, former U.S. ambassador to France, suggested Koons create something to show Americans’ support and solidarity.

“I did, as a citizen in New York, experience 9/11 and the depression that hung over the city,” Koons told reporters. “It really took years for the city to be able to come to life again.”

80 percent of the proceeds from selling the sculpture’s copyright will go directly to the victims’ families, while the rest will be used to maintain the sculpture itself. The roughly $3.5 million in installation costs were paid for by a private foundation.

Reactions to the sculpture have been decidedly mixed. As the 23 French cultural figures who denounced the sculpture in the French daily paper Libération noted when “Bouquet of Tulips” was first announced, the imagery has no symbolic connection to the Paris attacks.

In The New Yorker, Lauren Collins wrote, “I don’t know about you, but if I were creating a monument to the victims of terrorist attacks, a pallid, disembodied hand wouldn’t be my first thought… the skin is white, of course. The blooms are pink, orange, red, white, yellow, green, and blue. Deli flowers, from us to the French people. The suspicion persists that the piece is a joke on the French, a sort of Trojan Hand meant to project American superiority rather than sympathy.”

Artnet wondered what the French people themselves thought of the sculpture and went out to interview onlookers at the Petit Palais.

“I find it truly vile,” Jean-Pierre Defaucigny, a collector and gallerist, said. “It is very, very, ugly. I can’t believe that France, which is overflowing with talented artists, would accept this. I am very sad. I won’t say what the flowers make me think of, but I find them indecent.” (If you’re wondering, other respondents were far more direct in their comparisons. You can read those here).

All in all, just over half of those polled approved of the installation, with many saying that whatever you may think of the aesthetics of the sculpture, it’s the sentiment that counts.

“Listen, I think it’s nice,” says student Arno Beringer. “It was a present, after all. Lots of people are being really annoying about it, but that’s just a classic French reaction, isn’t it? People love to criticize stuff.”

Jeff Koons has been a source of controversy in the art world since he first debuted in the 1980s. He’s best known for his kitschy balloon animal sculptures, one of which fetched $91.9 million at auction, setting a record for a living artist.

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There are a lot of weird-looking architectural renderings on the internet, and most of them never get built — so it’s kind of fun when some of those proposals end up existing in the real world. L’Arbre Blanc Tower isn’t particularly outlandish, but it’s certainly unusual, and now that it’s complete, it serves as an interesting example of how digital concepts translate to three-dimensional structures.

Its name means “The White Tree,” and it’s easy to see why, though the result ends up looking more like a spiny cactus than branches sprouting from a narrow trunk. Sou Fujimoto Architects collaborated with Nicolas Laisné Associés, Dmitri Roussel/DREAM, and Manal Rachdi Oxo Architects to produce this mixed-use multifamily project for Montpellier, France. Its defining feature is clearly the many cantilevered balconies of varying lengths that protrude from its facade in all directions.

Winner of the 2013 “Folie Richter” competition by the Montpellier city council, which sought a blueprint for a beacon tower to enrich the city’s architectural heritage, the 17-floor L’Arbre Blanc demonstrates a novel way to give all of the inhabitants of an apartment tower access to the outdoors and gorgeous views of the city. On the ground floor is a glass-walled space full of shops and cafés, while the top floor contains a bar that’s open to the public and a common area for residents, so even those who live on the bottom floor can enjoy panoramic vistas.

The balconies act like sun shades, helping to cool the building throughout the day. The architects compare them to “leaves that fold out in search of sunlight… forming a protective veil for the facade.” In offering all of these outdoor spaces as well as access to the rooftop, they hoped to avoid the sort of “inaccessible tower syndrome” often seen in urban high-rise projects. A landscaped park at the ground level extends to the banks of the Lez River.

Unique, modular interior spaces are one of the hallmarks of the tower’s apartments, as the architects imagine a future in which freedom of choice becomes more important than ever when it comes to housing.

“The many balconies and pergolas really do promote outdoor living and enable a new type of relationship between residents,” say the architects. “Each apartment boasts an outdoor space of at least seven square meters (the largest is 35 square meters), with multiple levels of privacy and layout options; residents of the duplex apartments can move from one balcony to the other. So that all apartments have pleasing views, the architects sculpted the blueprint with a series of spatial experiments using physical 3D models.”

“The many technical innovations of L’Arbre Blanc include the terraces, whose cantilevers, which are up to 7.5 meters long, constitute a world first. These exceptional outside spaces are fully-fledged living rooms, which are connected to the dwellings in such a way as to allow residents to live inside and outside, a luxury for a city bathed in the sunshine 80 percent of the year!”

The architects also describe the tower as a cross-cultural endeavor and an interchange between two generations of architects. World-renowned Japanese firm Sou Fujimoto offers its prestige and expertise to youthful French architects while also bringing some of its own cultural aesthetics to the project.

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Lost to a devastating fire, the iconic spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral can never be recaptured exactly as it once was — nor can any other damaged parts of the 856-year-old structure. Built over a period of nearly 200 years beginning in the middle of the 12th century, Notre Dame represents countless hours of skilled labor, and the forests that supplied its massive old growth oak frame are long gone. Felled sometime between 1160 and 1170 and coming from trees thought to be up to 400 years old at the time, these timber beams simply can’t be replaced with trees from today’s forests, which are much younger and smaller.

But long before the fire broke out, Notre Dame already represented how even our oldest and most significant architecture can evolve over time: its 300-foot spire was only added in the mid-19th century during a major restoration project by architect Eugéne Viollet-le-Duc. This spirit of adaptation and survival will likely guide many of the proposals to revamp the cathedral, as President Emmanuel Macron has promised the nation of France that Notre Dame will be rebuilt “more beautiful than before” within five years’ time.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced a competition to reconstruct Notre Dame almost as soon as the blaze was extinguished, telling reporters that the building will receive “a spire suited to the techniques and challenges of our time.”

“The international competition will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even recreate the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc,” says Philippe. “Or, as is often the case in the evolution of heritage, whether we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire. This is obviously a huge challenge, a historic responsibility.”

Preserving the remaining portions of the cathedral will be a challenge, as the Paris fire service has reported that many elements, including the gables that hold the building’s renowned rose windows up, are “no longer supported by the frame.” A new design will have to find a way to strengthen this frame without the use of old-growth wood.

Architects have noted three main areas of damage, including the hole where the spire once stood, the transept, and the vault of the north transept. To make matters even more complicated, the wooden structures that previously supported the ceiling are waterlogged from efforts to stop the fire, and 210 tons of melted lead from the roof’s shingles poured into the cathedral’s interior, causing additional damage. While most of the stone structure was saved, much of it remains dangerously unstable.

In light of all this, any calls to recreate Notre Dame as a true replica of its former self may not be entirely realistic, reigniting a common debate around efforts to rebuild historic structures. Should architects use new technologies to reproduce the cathedral as faithfully as possible, or come up with a new design that honors its past while acknowledging what it’s been through, potentially incorporating a few contemporary elements? It will be interesting to see what architects entering the competition come up with, and how the public will react to their ideas.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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