Taking place at the Hartell Galley at Cornell University, 'Vers un climat: Building (with) the Unstable' is an exhibition by AWP Architects focusing on the nocturnal face of architecture - how buildings contribute to the urban nightscape. From August 26 - September 16, the exhibit features both realized and proposed projects by AWP while revealing the practice’s in depth research on the many ways in which the intangible dimensions of architecture – such as atmosphere, climate, and light - materialize in buildings. Part of AWP ’s ongoing challengeis to translate recurrent themes of impermanence, evolution, and the uncontrollable into design. More architects' description after the break.
The night is a potent subject: its veil of darkness can hide imperfections and transform appearances. In cities it’s both the calm retreat from the bustling day and the beginning of social life, at a different pace.
AWP , Office for Territorial Reconfiguration, (Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta) has spent several years looking at the ways in which climate, time, light and the atmosphere influence architectural design. The exhibition at Cornell is the culmination of a show at the Pavillon d’Arsenal (Paris La Nuit, Nocturnal Chronicles 23/5-6/10 2013) and a book (Nightscapes, nocturnal landscapes, 2009) which illustrate the nocturnal face of architecture, proving that buildings, like light, have the capacity to evolve, change, fluctuate and perform as active participants in our cities.
Projects on show include The Lantern Pavilion in Sandnes, Norway (2008 – 2009), a striking combination of the avant-garde and the traditional: a transparent gathering space raised on wooden stilts. At night the structure’s interior lights reflect off the glass exterior to create a warm and welcoming glow. The Troll installation (2003 – 2008) is an experimental project exploring mobility in urban spaces at night, while the design for the LAM Museum Sculpture Park (2010) springs from the desire to reinterpret, liberate and enhance the definition of outdoor spaces, strengthening their relation to architecture and sculptures; the design includes a luminous installation that enable a night program on site. La Defense Night-time Plan (2013) will also be featured in the exhibition, AWP ’s master plan for the development of Paris’ Central Business D istrict. The plan outlines a long-term evolution strategy for the site and identifies possibilities \ to develop a new night-time identity for the area, among many other issues.
Academic and theoretical work will also be included from the Paris la Nuit exhibition, illustrating the challenges that night poses to urbanism, landscape design and architecture. Presenting carefully collated data on mobility, logistics, maintenance, employment, tourism, transgressions, services and culture, the exhibition documents and analyses the metropolitan Parisian nightscape from 1789 to today.
For more information on the exhibition, please visit here.
AWP Team: Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta (partners); Dennis Brochard, Bérénice Gentil, Gemma Guinovart, Laureline Guilpain, Quentin L’Hôte, Dasha Mikic, Maya Nemeta (project team)
Guest Curator and Graphic Conception: AWP (Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta)