New world architecture at an old favourite

Today we explored the exposition Freeing Architecture by Junya Ishigami at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain.  We both love this gallery.  The building and the garden are inspiring and always an adventure, and every exhibition we've explored here has been unique and immersive.  It's the final days of this particular exhibition, so I feel very fortunate to have been able to see it.


The Fondation Cartier is quite close to where we're staying, maybe a 20 minute walk, and we had to queue for a short time before entry.  Because of the nature of the exhibits, the numbers inside the exhibition are limited.  Today was perfect - blue sky, low 20s - ideal queue-ing weather!

Junya Ishigami is a Japanese architect, born in 1974.  He believes that it is becoming increasingly difficult for preconceived building types and functions to respond to society's changing circumstances, and that architecture should be reconsidered afresh - beyond any stereotypes of what architecture is considered to be.  He says:  As architects we need to listen with care and humbleness to the voices of all the people on this earth who are in need of architecture.  Throughout the exhibition Ishigami illustrated his desire to use what exists to reveal new forms - not to add or remove elements.

The exhibition is beautifully presented.  It is a collection of models, created by Ishigami for the exhibition, which represent 19 of his architectural projects throughout Asia and Europe, including the Cloud Arch planned for George Street, Sydney (hey you, lucky Sydney!).

One of the most poignant for me, and a favourite of both of us, was the Home for the Elderly, a work in progress in Tohoku, Japan.   This project is a residential facility for elderly people suffering from dementia.  Ishigami acquired 40 houses that were destined to be demolished at sites all over Japan.  He used the ancestral technique of hikiya - a method of moving a house from one location to another without disassembling its structure - to bring the houses together on the site for the home.  The house structures were grouped and reworked at the site, with living spaces based on traditional proportions to create familiar settings where the residents could easily find their bearings.  Is that not a perfect example of listening to the voices of the people who are in need of architecture?

Loved it!

And finally, we revisited La Cabane du Chat by Agnès Varda - a work acquired by the Fondation in 2016.  This is a tiny wooden cabin in the garden where a short film - a tribute to Agnès' cat Zgougou - is projected on the sandy floor.  Each year we watch it, turn to each other and smile.  You can feel it was made with love.