“Captivated by the Beaux-Art Honour’s hemicycle we proposed a quite and respectful presence of the exhibition content horizontally, almost hidden walking on a surface of trials, ideas, projects and supervising a photography of process. ”
(IM)PUR (IN)FORMAL (UN)BUILT
This exhibition project is the result of a collaboration between OMA and the students of the School of Architecture of Paris-Malaquais. Initially introductory course for about fifteen students on OMA library projects, he evolved into an ambitious project of research for this exhibition and his book.
The exhibition “3 libraries for France” presents the three library projects designed by OMA in France, that of the Very Large Library (1989), the University of Jussieu (1992) and the library of Caen whose realisation is scheduled for 2012.
OMA has always built and had a particular concern with France and its history. Since the Parc de la Villette proposal in 1982 and following on more asserted radical plans basis, the agency has been usually placed on controversy paths. Because of their ambition regarding the period, les french libraries plans have taken a fundamental positioning in the agency’s theoretical building point of view and have constructed this retroactive study.
A library still remains today a real public space for multiple uses by individuals. The library is one of the last public places protected from shopping where mercantilism find opposition in lending. It is often the unique place open to everyone, for free, offering a direct access without necessary mediation. Libraries are the expression of a culture democratisation’s desire.
The exhibition also intend to draw the attention on the overthrow that has brought under, since the end of the last century, the library space diffusing numerous questioning about its position in the contemporary society and about the numerical industries apparition. Since 1989 with the project of the Huge Library, OMA asked a prospective question about this electronic revolution stating the possibility that what is exalting with numerical industries is that the last function of architecture will be to plan and create symbolics publics spaces in correspondance with one new desire, voluntary and persistant of collectivity.
To show OMA projects in France in the Honour’s hemicycle of the Beaux-Arts school - exhibition from June 16th to July 20th 2011.
OMA projects are exposed in the Honour’s hemicycle of the Beaux-Arts school realised by Felix Dubai from 1834 to 1852. This hemicycle has been conceived as the apotheosis of an initiatory and museological course. Awards and medals of this academic period were awarded to students there, achieving so their prestigious school course.
The Honour hemicycle is remarquable with its large mural fresco of Paul Delaroche painted in 1841. This very realistic painting is representing the greatest artists and thinkers since antiquity period - with, from left to right, architects, judges, sculptors and painters - and that remain today one the only existing undamaged element of the initial composition of this amphitheater. The fresco has kept her value of transhistorical fiction magnifying the classical occidental culture and the majors high schools of arts. In the middle, the art genius is giving out crowns to invited students in this democracy of arts.
With the 1968 events, the division between arts and architecture teachings excluded this excellency space from initiatory course. Its altar and its backstage painting were then displaced to be included in museum collections, the original floor had been covered with a synthetic fitted carpet for which the hygienic modernity can’t explain the presence, the balcony had been filled up with Beaux-Arts library’s debris and the library itself had been considered as a lumberroom. This space change for a marvellous forsaken which function became being of no use.
This is to perceive and dispose of the hemicycle imagined in order to give back honours to what it represents today, a secret and forbidden place, excavate in the hard part of this institution of Beaux-Arts, thinking as a salon of refused for these library plans whose receipt often had been difficult. With the OMA works exhibition, the isolated room will appear as a knowledges’ theater. this will be the occasion for the public to discover OMA’s architecture as well as golds of romantic generation.
The division of time of exhibition which has been constituted in three acts although an attempt to enlighten the visitor on the contents and the wire of this exhibition, is only arbitrary. It does not wish to deceive the good sense of the visitor who must find a freedom of discovery within a limit of time and space that are the only elements we have imposed on him. The stands of this amphitheatre host video conversations and books for a space of reading and informal dialogue, in a duality parterre / tier that builds the interest of the open course of this exhibition.
credit photographique Clément Guillaume
credits
Curators : Rem Koolhaas and Clément Blanchet
Client : Ecole Paris Malaquais
Realised in : 2011
Status : delivered
Site : Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris VIe
Program : exhibition, scenography
team composition
Ecole de Paris Malaquais, Nasrine Seraji et Thierry Mandoul