The LA+ EXOTIQUE design ideas competition asks entrants to design the forecourt of the Museum of Natural History in Paris. The museum was founded in 1793 during the French Revolution, though the site had been used as a royal garden of medicinal plants since 1635. The site is located on the left bank of the River Seine and sits within the Jardins des Plantes, which are 28-hectare grounds that include exterior gardens and a zoo (Ménagerie), with five galleries in the museum precinct: Gallery of Evolution, Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology, Gallery of Botany, Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, and Large Greenhouses (Grandes Serres). All of these could be considered inspiration for your design. The Museum is not just a collection of fossils, it is an active research institution studying the evolution of life on this planet, and its occupants, both human and nonhuman.
Obviously, this location provides rich thematic connections to questions of colonialism, taxonomy, endemism, and exoticism. The degree to which your design relates to these themes and the museum itself is at your discretion. Whether (and, if so, how) the space is curated by the museum, or whether it functions autonomously as a themed area within the broader context of the Jardins des Plantes or some combination thereof, is also at your discretion. Similarly, you will have to decide upon the degree to which your design might include botanical material, and how it relates to garden history more broadly. (Please note that the Museum and the Jardin des Plantes are not formally associated with this competition; however, for the hypothetical purposes of this competition, entrants can assume that both institutions are willing partners.)
In the tradition of past LA+ competitions entrants are encouraged to challenge and extend the competition’s conceptual terms of reference and the way in which ideas are represented. This openness is not, however, to be confused with conceptual and spatial vagary: designs are expected to be legible and resolved both conceptually and in terms of their spatial and material relationship to the site. The drawings, images, and accompanying written statement must be legible and accurate. While the competition emphasizes conceptual richness over buildability, it is important to note that designs will be judged as real proposals and therefore their degree of suitability for this specific location will be considered. We hasten to add that Paris has a fine history of building projects that challenge conservative conceptions of what may or may not be considered “suitable.” While budget is not a consideration the form, function, and materiality of entries will be of interest to the jury
Title
LA+ EXOTIQUE International Design Ideas CompetitionType
Competition Announcement (Ideas)Website
Organizers
Submission Deadline
October 31, 2023 04:59 AMVenue
Forecourt of the Museum national d’histoire naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris.Price
$50 USD