◀︎  Beyond the walls

Grey Matter in Angoulême

Itinerancy at the CAUE Charente

Exhibition presented from October 16, 2020 to July 5, 2021.

The exhibition Grey Matter is presented at the CAUE Charente, in Angoulême from October 16, 2020 to July 5, 2021.

Using “more grey matter” in order to use “less raw material” is one of the main concerns of this exhibition that calls in the collective intelligence to reconsider the material we use in our buildings.

75 projects prove the potential of reuse and the possible new lives that worn out materials from all areas of the construction industry can enjoy. In Brussels, second-hand bricks build today’s houses; in Massachusetts, freeway viaduct gantries give structure to a villa; in Saint-Denis, the cladding that has been turned down for a mall now covers the prestigious National Contemporary Academy of Circus Arts; in Madrid, yesterday’s tiles divide and transform an avant-garde cultural site; in Bali, hundreds of clerestory windows adorn a hotel; in Alabama, 72000 carpet slabs bear Lucy’s home; even the future headquarters of the European Council in Brussels attires itself in a frontage made of 3000 saved windows…

Re-use incredibly opens up the field of possibilities : prefabricated concrete, maritime piles, railway crossties, cable reels, plaster slabs meet daily waste to become foundation, siding materials, acoustical insulation, structure, frontage, etc. 

Information

Exhibition created by the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 2015
Scientific curators : Encore Heureux, Julien Choppin & Nicola Delon, architects
Graphic design : Camping Design 
Illustration : Bonnefrite

Pavillon de l'Arsenal travelling exhibitions
Pavillon de l'Arsenal exports the urban know-how of the city of Paris and of French and Parisian architects through the presentation of travelling exhibitions. These exhibitions provide an opportunity for professionals of different nationalities to meet and strengthen links with cities and similar organisations in France and abroad.