By Jordan Grant
It’s not surprising that the OMA entry was disregarded when
a closer look is taken at that of Tschumi. The winning entry can be described
quite simply, as Bernard Tschumi Architects’ website does- “La Villette could
be conceived of as one of the largest buildings ever constructed — a
discontinuous building but a single structure nevertheless, overlapping the
site’s existing features and articulating new activities. It opposes the
landscape notion of Olmstead, widespread during the 19th century, that ‘in the
park, the city is not supposed to exist.’ Instead, it proposes a social and
cultural park with activities that include workshops, gymnasium and bath
facilities, playgrounds, exhibitions, concerts, science experiments, games and
competitions, in addition to the Museum of Science and Technology and the City
of Music on the site.”
This concept of a cultural park rather than the garden-like
parks of the past, but instead it was exciting and new and most likely helped
this entry stand above the rest. The park today is famous for the red follies
(a folly is a building that is constructed primarily for decoration, or is
overly ornate or exaggerated compared to its purpose) that are arranged in a
grid over the site. The Parc is also noted as one of the first pieces of
deconstructivist architecture since Tschumi was greatly influenced by deconstructionist
philosopher Jacques Derrida.
Last week I wrote about the brilliant design of Rem Koolhaas
in Berlin at the Netherlands Embassy; this week is dedicated to a competitor of
OMA for the winning design of the Parc De La Villette in Paris- Bernard Tschumi
Architects.
First, a bit of history about the site itself- the Parc De
La Villette was put forth as a design competition by the city of Paris in
1982-1983. The site had previously been a place for slaughterhouses, but the
clearing of the structure put the largest remaining empty space back on the map
in Paris. As you might imagine, architects worldwide jumped at the opportunity
to submit their entries, and over 470 international entries we received.
Among those entries were works from both OMA and Bernard
Tschumi Architects. These two plans were extremely different in almost every
imaginable way; it’s interesting to imagine what the space would have been like
had Tschumi not been chosen as the architect of one of Paris’ largest parks.
OMA’s submittal for the Parc De La Villette is extremely
complex; the plan itself consists of five different stages to develop the site.
As OMA’s website describes the project, “The program by the city of Paris was
too large for the site, leaving no space for a park. The proposed project is
not for a definitive park, but for a method that - combining programmatic
instability with architectural specificity - will eventually generate a park.”
The five steps laid forward by OMA were 1) to organize the
major programmatic elements in horizontal bands across the site, 2) to place
kiosks, playgrounds, barbeque pits, and other facilities mathematically on grid
points, 3) the addition of a round forest as an architectural element, 4) to
provide connections between the points, and finally 5) to introduce
superimpositions.
It’s not surprising that the OMA entry was disregarded when
a closer look is taken at that of Tschumi. The winning entry can be described
quite simply, as Bernard Tschumi Architects’ website does- “La Villette could
be conceived of as one of the largest buildings ever constructed — a
discontinuous building but a single structure nevertheless, overlapping the
site’s existing features and articulating new activities. It opposes the
landscape notion of Olmstead, widespread during the 19th century, that ‘in the
park, the city is not supposed to exist.’ Instead, it proposes a social and
cultural park with activities that include workshops, gymnasium and bath
facilities, playgrounds, exhibitions, concerts, science experiments, games and
competitions, in addition to the Museum of Science and Technology and the City
of Music on the site.” 
This concept of a cultural park rather than the garden-like
parks of the past, but instead it was exciting and new and most likely helped
this entry stand above the rest. The park today is famous for the red follies
(a folly is a building that is constructed primarily for decoration, or is
overly ornate or exaggerated compared to its purpose) that are arranged in a
grid over the site. The Parc is also noted as one of the first pieces of
deconstructivist architecture since Tschumi was greatly influenced by deconstructionist
philosopher Jacques Derrida.
The Parc has received its fair share of both praise and
criticism, yet no matter what opinions are shed upon the space it is an
undeniable fact that Tschumi has created an iconic and successful space in
Paris that attracts almost 8 million visitors a year.
Information and photo sources: http://www.tschumi.com/projects/3/#, http://oma.eu/projects/1982/parc-de-la-villette
I think architecture in la will likely be great.
ReplyDeleteRios Clementi Hale Studios was founded in 1985 as a multi-disciplinary design firm. We create singular, integrated and comprehensive solutions for a variety of design challenges. Combined, our talents comprise a wide range of professional skills including architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design, interior design, graphics and signage, exhibit and product design. Project types include commercial, residential, civic, educational, institutional, exhibits and product and furniture design.
We are dedicated to applying a strong interdisciplinary collaborative approach to the design process, whether on projects within our office or in consultation with other design firms. A broad mixture of clients and projects has given us solid experience in dealing with various and complex design issues.
I think la architecture will be great.