The exclamation and question marks are given in the title of the exhibition "by choice". Of course, the organizers have no doubt that the eight works of the French architect Auguste Perret presented by them are true masterpieces of world architecture. But the question mark seems to hint: despite the fact that the work of this pioneer of reinforced concrete construction has been well studied, the public still has something to think about and what to discover.
The choice of the Jena Palace (Palais d'Iéna) for the exhibition is also quite understandable: this building is one of the buildings of Perret, erected in 1937 to house the National Museum of Civil Engineering. In 1959, this building was taken over by the French Economic and Social Council (CESE), which, together with the Prada Foundation, organized the current exhibition. Thus, along with drawings, photographs and models of buildings erected by Perret, visitors can see the original construction of the master.
The scientific curator was researcher Joseph Abram, and the art direction of the exhibition was entrusted to the longtime partner of the Miuccia Prada Foundation - the OMA bureau, more precisely, its AMO division, with the project team being led by Rem Koolhaas himself. Let us remind you that AMO is a kind of research laboratory dealing, among other things, with issues of fashion, design, media and organization of exhibitions. AMO has been working with the Jena Palace space since 2011, participating in the design and organization of Prada events that take place there (for example, the 24-hour museum). Therefore, the scenography of this exhibition is both the result of a long study of this space and a modern rethinking of Perret's architecture. What eventually appeared before the eyes of the public is real architecture in architecture.
The space of the Hypostyle Hall of the Jena Palace is divided into several zones. Along its entire left longitudinal wall there is an iron lattice structure, on which materials are exhibited, dedicated to eight "masterpieces" of the architectural workshop of Perret. These are buildings in Paris and its environs - a residential building on rue Franklin (1903), the theater of the Champs Elysees (1913), the Church of Notre Dame de Rency (1923), the Corto concert hall at the School of Music (1928), the building of the Ministry of State Property of France (Mobilier National, 1934) and Jena Palace (1937), as well as the Town Hall (1950) and the Church of Saint Joseph (1951) in Le Havre. Each project is illustrated with drawings, plans, sections, sketches and historical photographs taken during and after construction. Also, buildings and projects that preceded it in time and developed the same architectural ideas were selected in parallel to each building.
The curators call the main task of the exhibition not so much the analysis of the architectural heritage of Auguste Perret (already well studied), as the penetration into his "creative cuisine". The buildings they have chosen are the key works of the master, which allow tracing the evolution of his attitude to style and to the "work" of material in architecture. This evolution proceeded from enthusiasm for the ideas of Viollet-le-Duc and the Art Nouveau style to constructive architecture made of reinforced concrete and to the solution of large-scale urban planning problems on the example of the post-war reconstruction of the historical center of Le Havre, completed after the death of the master. "Everything moving or stationary that fills the space belongs to the field of architecture," wrote Perret.
Having a clear sense of the connection between the material and the nature of the architectural structure, Perret was in no hurry to subvert the art of the past, but he understood that with the availability of modern materials and technologies - first of all, reinforced concrete - it is difficult to imitate it, and it is pointless; this conflict of ideas is the reason for the stylistic conservatism of his work in comparison with their innovative engineering solution.
The models presented at the exhibition were borrowed from various museums in France and made at different times: among them there are works from the 1950s, and modern ones from the first years of the 21st century: this time spread allows, among other things, to trace the evolution of architectural modeling over the past time. The Mobilier National section of the exhibition shows furniture designed by Auguste Perret.
In the center of the hall there is a row of horizontal display cases upholstered in artificial material like white suede, which makes them both original as a design object and incredibly pleasant to the touch. Here, in the "Biography" section, Perret's letters, personal belongings and photographs are exhibited: a painted portrait of Perret by Antoine Bourdel, letters from André Gide and Louis Aragon, books on architecture from the master's personal library and even his unusually modern-looking sketch of eyeglass frames. In the same showcases, you can find publications about the buildings of the Perret bureau and personal notebooks and notebooks of the architect, and this section ends with a device with stereoscopic photographs from his family archive, as well as sculptural and pictorial portraits of Perret by Bourdelle, Khana Orlova and other masters: so curators placed the figure of an outstanding architect in the context of the artistic environment of that time.
At the right wall of the hypostyle, near the entrance to the hall, there is a wooden structure like an amphitheater: on its steps, on special stands, there are albums with photographs of eight buildings - the heroes of the exhibition, made by Gilbert Fastenaekens. This place invariably attracts children: they climb and crawl up the steps of the structure and enthusiastically leaf through the pages of albums.
At the far end of the hall is the second amphitheater of the same kind. Its steps are places for spectators. Here you can watch the film “25 Bis” by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine about the current life of the house on Franklin Street and its inhabitants. On Saturdays, for lovers of piano music, this part of the exhibition turns into a small concert hall for half an hour.
The steps of this amphitheater lead to a small area under the very ceiling of the hall: here are the works of students of the higher architectural schools of Nancy and Versailles, reinterpreting the creative heritage of Auguste Perret. These are highly unusual volumetric structures, reminiscent of the models of fantastic buildings and urban spaces, in which, at the same time, references to the style and creative method of the eminent architect are read.
Between the two amphitheaters there are objects that symbolize the interiors of buildings and fill them with objects: this is how the organizers return to the idea of habitation, human use of the architectural space, raised by the ribbon "25 Bis". Here are facsimiles of the posters of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, which took place in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, glass blocks of unusual shape that adorn the stairwells of a residential building on Franklin Street, and so on. The Corto Hall corresponds to a grand piano: in addition to being an exhibit, it is also used for its intended purpose at Saturday concerts.
Lectures, excursions, performances are an integral part of any Parisian exhibition. It will not do without them this time too: a rich cultural program awaits visitors to the exposition, which will last until February 19, 2014. Therefore, the works of Auguste Perret are not only exhibits of the exhibition, but also as an integral part of the urban landscape, as well as the design of the OMA / AMO bureau - quite a solid reason to visit Paris this winter!
