Festival des Architectures Vives presentation
The Festival des Architectures Vives aims to raise public awareness of the wide range of architecture. It seeks not only to highlight the work of a young generation of architects, landscape architects and urban planners but also to make discover unexpected urban areas.
Through two urban courses, one in the historical heart of Montpellier’s town and a second in La Grande Motte, the public can discover works of contemporary architecture in unique sites and sometimes unknown from people. In Montpellier, courtyards of private hostels, usually closed to the public, open their doors during the festival. In La Grande Motte, the festival offers an urban course in the heart of Jean Balladur’s architecture, which caracterises this seaside town, recently approved “Heritage of the XXth Century”. In 2014, the Festival des Architectures Vives invested 20 sites in total with 18 installations + 2 pavilions.
Many works allow interaction with visitors. Leaving no physical trace, the festival seeks to make an impression, to initiate a global reflection on architecture and its development in existing urban context and finally, to create a dialogue between contemporary works and heritage. Mediators are present on each site. These mediators are students at the School of Architecture of Montpellier and they endeavour to strengthen appreciation of the works of the visitors. The event is free, this reflects the desire of opening architecture to the greatest number.
FAV is organized by Elodie Nourrigat and Jacques Brion, architects in Montpellier.
Pavillon of FAV presentation
Since the 2011 edition, we have implemented the realization of a FAV pavilion. This pavilion allows public reception and diffusion of information about the FAV, before and during the festival. Easily identifiable, it is also the starting point of the course. The pavilion is a meeting place and a forum for all visitors. People are encouraged to come back to this point of the course, at the end, to vote for their favorite work. Visitors can get informations about the past editions and leaf through the books of past editions of the FAV.
Realization of pavilion is entrusted to young architects exercising in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, where takes place the festival. In 2014, Pavilion of FAV in Montpellier was realized by Atelier NH, made up with Laura Nargeot and Aurélie Harlin who got the Jury Price in La Grande Motte in 2013.
Project presentation
“Sensuality is attachment to sensual pleasure” Sensuality is induced for us, it is suggested; It belongs to felt. It is an evocation of sensuousness, softness, fluidity and flexibility and reminds us waltz reeds whipped by the wind or the curves of the womanly body… We have chosen to be inspired by the Haute Couture and its mission to shape figures. Christian Lacroix has brought up to date an accessory to the less become a sensual object and made it a base of his art: the corset. Real architect of the body in its ability to highlight and accentuate curves, the corset, like skeletal structure, is the object of our inspiration for this pavilion 2014. At the level of the court, this project reveals a weaving architecture where wood frames function as generators of curves. A particular work is given to weaving a membrane, where the effects vary depending on the shapes of the generators. Determined by this breading, the volume of the pavilion is revealed in its curve and its sensuousness, evoking plaited laces of a corset. Within the court in both covered and opened, with columns that encourage perambulation, the project questions the inside/outside, by its volume that becomes a filter for light, look, the course and the heart of the pavilion. Through its sensual forms, the Weave Shape Pavilion, which combines optical games and shadows, welcomes you to present you the projects of the 9th Festival des Architectures Vives in Montpellier.
