PROJECTS FOR 2014
ECHOES FROM THE ABYSS
The project, done in collaboration with the Ecole Nationale Superieur D’architecture, was executed in 2013-2014 in the context of FACE’s OBA III project with the architecture students in courses P906 and P821. The project's objective was to help students develop faculties of comprehension and understanding of specific urban situations. In the context of their work, FACE played an facilitatory role as an interface for the students to both connect to the geographical context of their intended projects and also to allow for the participatory process to take place.
Students worked in the architectural and sociological sphere known as the “Grandes ensembles” (large-scale government housing projects). They dealt with public housing complexes in La Courneuve, as well as housing in the neighborhoods of Harlem and the Bronx in New York City. They drafted and worked in situ in La Courneuve and in NYC mapping, drafting, and creating to reimagine public spaces and residences.
The challenge was for each student to see how they could transform a specific location and reimagine the space to illicit change through architecture. The work questioned the general loss of public faith around whether or not they really have a voice in the context of urban renewal projects. It looked at past and current methods of consulting the inhabitants of these spaces in regards to their environment. This collaborative effort resulted in projects that explored the use of public land in the context of democracy.
Through formal presentations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, students from ENSA worked to bring to the forefront the voices of communities that often feel that their voices are systematically stifled in regards to urban renewal projects.
BANLIEUE IS BEAUTIFUL
"Banlieue is Beautiful" is a "social sculpture" created by artist Monte Laster and co-organized with journalists Mehdi Meklat and Badroudine Saïd Abdallah. The artwork was co-produced by Palais de Tokyo Center for Contemporary Art, Quancard Contemporary Art and TFAA.
As part of a larger, global project, we held a workshop with fifth grade students from Joliot-Curie Elementary school students, lead by artist, Monte Laster and architect, Nicolas Fonty. The CO-OP project is still in progress.
CONTES DE FÉES URBAIN: CO-OP
HABITATIONS AND INHABITANTS OF THE "CITÉ DES 4000" THROUGH THE CREATIVE EYE
FACE and Monte Laster led an Urban Walk that was organised in collaboration with the Seine-Saint-Denis tourist board and the Pepiniére des Entreprises. This walk showcased the local population through the prism of the creative process.
ÂMES VÉGÉTALS
In this ongoing project with the students of the Joliot-Curie Elementary school, we aim to connect the children with the transformation of their physical landscape by engaging them in urban gardening, teaching them the agricultural past of Courneuve, and enhancing their understanding of biodiversity.
For many years, FACE has worked with these students in the school's personal garden, which was previously just a wasteland. Presently, efforts are underway to organize the expansion of this project so that we can transform the undeveloped land surrounding Moulin Fayvon into a large, city garden that would host herbology and urban design workshops. Additionally, we have planned an educational visit to "Potager du Roy" (Versailles) to learn more about agricultural techniques, breeding, harvesting, biodiversity, and native species and flora.