Keywords:

Project economy, economy of means, circular economy, territorial economy, reuse, housing, equipment, urban strategies, architecture, concrete architecture, representation, ….

Presentation:

As contemporary architecture becomes increasingly assimilated to a commodity, the project studio “REAAC. Recherches économiques appliquées à l’architecture contemporaine” project studio is interested in studying the relationships that gravitate between architectural production and its economic dimension. To this end, the studio explores the possibility of architectural design, taking as its starting point the economic question as a formal producer, and its material and usage dimensions.
If we analyze the history of architecture over the last century, we can see a striking consistency between the dominant economic model, market demand, its production model, social value, architectural production and the innovations developed by our society. Economic issues increasingly condition our lives as citizens and our practice as architects. They become an indispensable thermometer influencing our judgment and design choices. They enable us to be credible in architectural production, where any discourse based solely on composition or a certain formal aesthetic rings increasingly hollow. The aim is to make students aware of this fact by designing an architectural project in which the various economic aspects will be taken as the starting point for its conception and not as a subject to be dealt with later. This posture will be as open as possible, in order to bring out the intelligence of the project and its relevance within the socio-economic mechanisms of the fabrication of space. It won’t be a question of creating a thrifty project, nor of “costing” a building (unless you deem it necessary). Rather, we’re interested in understanding how quality in architecture is often linked to the economic dimension of the project (in the broadest sense of the term), and in defining the intrinsic conditions of necessity for each project. The more defined the mastery of constructive systems, resources or uses, the more obvious it becomes to conceive of an experimental posture. All the best examples in our field teach us this. In the end, this framework enables us to take an interest in the formal question, not as an aesthetic act, but as the construction of a critical thought process.

In order to gain an awareness of the subject in all its aspects, this year we’ll be looking at the design of a mixed-use program combining housing and public facilities. These mixed-use programs are playing an increasingly central role in the identification of contemporary territory. Their urban situation, their relationship to the already existing and the economic model that derives from them need to be reconsidered in depth. Imagine a mixed-use building not as a simple exchange value, but as an element that can be sustainably integrated into the socio-economic fabric of a city. To this end, we are interested in identifying what is strictly necessary for a building to “work”.

The studio’s work is based on exploring the possibility of designing an architectural project (by rehabilitating, elevating or rebuilding) that takes into account the specifics of a commission, a program and questions the conceptual and operational tools for its projection.
The aim of the proposed studio is to confront students with an extremely contemporary issue (the economy in the manufacture of space) that highlights the mechanisms of architectural and urban design in all its facets. The aim is to encourage them to take a stand, as architects, on this issue through relevant and feasible architectural proposals. The aim is to consider and critique situations typical of ordinary production, architecture and the city, and then use these skills to formulate alternative proposals in the form of an architectural project. It seems possible to reclaim this conceptual void, and the working group set up by the master’s studio can contribute to this by drawing up a critical reading and formulating concrete proposals. Particular attention will be paid to the material dimension of architectural design, its representation and implementation.

The project sites are renewed each year, and are chosen on the basis of their development needs and their urban and architectural relevance. Each student – in groups for the masters and then individually – will be free to choose their problem and their site of intervention (within the city of action).
For the academic year 2024-2025 the action site will be the city of Montereau-Fault-Yonne. The city is of particular interest to us first and foremost for its socio-economic framework. Current urban and cultural policies are also contributing to a major transformation of the city and its environment. In our view, this current situation brings together a multitude of issues that will feed into future projects. We’ll be looking at urban fabrics, current and future projects, at the dawn of the most open questioning possible on the definition of a city to be reinvented, such as Montereau is. The project work will be carried out in close collaboration with several local partners.

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