What can an architectural detail tell us about our time?
A cornice, a gutter, reclaimed bricks, a chimney, a loggia, window surrounds made of concrete, stone and earth. The research project Metropolitan Vernacular? documents an investigation conducted in architecture practices and on construction sites across Greater Paris, exploring what – and who – shapes the design and construction of architectural details in new collective housing developments.
In this publication, documents and commentary are interwoven to reveal the twists and turns of architectural practice. Collected images, drawings and words are brought together and analysed to uncover the substance of ecological intentions beyond the façade of institutional labels and certifications.
Along the way, we encounter resistant materials and confident craftspeople, architects striving to retain some control over the visual identity of their projects, construction companies forced to adapt, residents concerned about their neighbourhoods, and prototypes that become arenas of political debate.
Reconstructed retrospectively from the implementation of architectural details, or closely following their development, these eight narratives explore the technical conditions, ethical ambitions and aesthetic considerations that shape architectural details today. For it may be at this scale that we can begin to identify the signs of architecture’s ecological commitment, within Greater Paris, a territory shaped by a globalised real estate economy.
Eight narratives investigate the making of collective housing in Greater Paris.
A cornice in Paris (18th arrondissement)
➝ ANAU and DATA architectes
A window sill in Paris (15th arrondissement)
➝ Architectures Raphaël Gabrion
A chimney in Yerres
➝ Belval & Parquet architectes
A window surround in Paris (10th arrondissement)
➝ ASBR architectes
A rainwater downpipe in Le Raincy
➝ Barrault Pressacco architectes
A loggia in Paris (14th arrondissement)
➝ Kuehn Malvezzi, Plan Común, Nicolas Dorval-Bory Architectes
A window surround in Pantin
➝ Atelier Rita and Vida architecture
A window surround in Boulogne
➝ Déchelette architecture
This publication explores, at the scale of architectural details, the tensions between ecological ambitions, technical constraints and metropolitan imaginaries.
In this publication, documents and commentary are interwoven to reveal the twists and turns of architectural practice. Collected images, drawings and words are brought together and analysed to uncover the substance of ecological intentions beyond the façade of institutional labels and certifications.
Along the way, we encounter resistant materials and confident craftspeople, architects striving to retain some control over the visual identity of their projects, construction companies forced to adapt, residents concerned about their neighbourhoods, and prototypes that become arenas of political debate.
Reconstructed retrospectively from the implementation of architectural details, or closely following their development, these eight narratives explore the technical conditions, ethical ambitions and aesthetic considerations that shape architectural details today. For it may be at this scale that we can begin to identify the signs of architecture’s ecological commitment, within Greater Paris, a territory shaped by a globalised real estate economy.
Eight narratives investigate the making of collective housing in Greater Paris.
A cornice in Paris (18th arrondissement)
➝ ANAU and DATA architectes
A window sill in Paris (15th arrondissement)
➝ Architectures Raphaël Gabrion
A chimney in Yerres
➝ Belval & Parquet architectes
A window surround in Paris (10th arrondissement)
➝ ASBR architectes
A rainwater downpipe in Le Raincy
➝ Barrault Pressacco architectes
A loggia in Paris (14th arrondissement)
➝ Kuehn Malvezzi, Plan Común, Nicolas Dorval-Bory Architectes
A window surround in Pantin
➝ Atelier Rita and Vida architecture
A window surround in Boulogne
➝ Déchelette architecture
This publication explores, at the scale of architectural details, the tensions between ecological ambitions, technical constraints and metropolitan imaginaries.
