France - modernity, promise or menace?

Villa Arpel - Modernism under scrutiny 

The French exhibition at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale sat in quiet reflection upon Modernism; to pay homage and present how the impacts and ideals borne out of core modernist fundamentals, have been adapted and shaped within the social and cultural fabric of France.

It sought to assess how it has been embraced, adapted, evaluated, and judged. The darkened series of rooms in the Pavilion put judgement upon its architecture, with each element presented as if evidence in a trial for a verdict to be served.

Four main subjects were presented to exemplify the ideals and adaptations of modernism in French architecture. Tying it all together as the centre piece of the exhibition is Jacques Tati’s 1958 French satirical tv show mon oncle. A large model of the show's Villa Arpel, and a looping series of large projections located through-out the Pavilion, depict sequences of this "idealistic" portrayal of modernist domestic life; the domestic trials and challenges in this new world hint on the ridiculous, with modernism under social scrutiny.

In the other rooms, the works by engineer Raymond Camus on prefabrication in concrete, and that in steel by Jean Prouve, are both exhibited. In a modernist exploration, both of these presented a panacea for quick and efficient construction –  an ideal construction method for the new world. Here, the original steel panels of walls, doors and windows, now hang abstracted from their designed purpose in quiet singularity; a spot light looms over them and casts stark shadows, with the smell of time ridden rolled metal pungently marking the air of the Pavilion's darkened rooms.

Hanging in abstraction
evidence for jury and verdict 

A fourth scenario presents the visions of mass public  housing and its translated reality, as time and society have served to naturally determine its place and in turn judge the success and role of modernist ideals.

Models of Modernism
High density mass housing - promise?

Visit the exhibition to judge, and read up on the evidence at 
http://www.institutfrancais.com/sites/default/files/press_kit_international_exhibition.pdf

French Pavilion, Giardini

Enter: Hints of Modernism -
echo of the eponymous pre-cast concrete panel slicing through the portico of the Pavilion