Giver of forms
Jean Nouvel by Jean Nouvel. Complete Works 1970-2008. Excerpt from the essay by Philip Jodidio
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Architect, builder, or dreamer? To create space, a place to live, or to erect a sign in the urban chaos that all is not lost to speculation and the endless repetition of banality? To fit into an existing environment, or to create singularities, signals to those who may understand that some resist the temptations of modern conformity? These are theoretical options for the creative architect, but the pressures on the builder are such that even the strong-willed often bend and agree to play the game. What of style? Some periods have known a dominant style, one that an architect could contradict only at the risk of losing his reputation, and yet some dared precisely that, changing the direction of a profession that in the best of circumstances can become an art. These rare architects are the form givers, those who lead and break the rules, eventually to be understood by their peers and the public at large. Frank Lloyd Wright or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe set out in almost diametrically opposite directions early in the 20th century, and between them gave form to modernity. The style and thought of Wright may have been more difficult to imitate than the geometric rigor of Mies, or even the more lyrical work of Corbu, but between them, these men defined the architecture of their time. Today there is clearly no dominant style, even if computer generated "blobs" or other manifestations of technology seem to have swept over the planet like a plague.When the "new" rhymes with the ephemeral, it may be that there is a thirst for more "genuine" forms that is even greater than in times of a dominant style.
Truly French, Nouvel knows how to push an idea to its limit without going over the edge
Jean Nouvel is a giver of forms. It may be too early to place him in the pantheon of modern architecture's greatest but he has displayed a remarkable sense of measure and originality that set him apart from others of his generation. Born in 1945, he is now entering the period of his life when an architect attains recognition. Building, simply put, takes more time than painting or sculpture. And where large sums of money are concerned, clients prefer to trust a known quantity than a young upstart. Beginning with the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (1987, with Architecture Studio), the Fondation Cartier (Paris, 1995) and more recently the Culture and Convention Center, (Lucerne, 2000), the Nantes Law Courts (2000) or the Agbar Tower (Barcelona, 2005), Nouvel has moved beyond the phase of local celebrity to join the ranks of architecture's small club of international "stars," designing a tower in Tokyo or a museum in Rio, cutting a familiar figure with his black hat and tough look.
Born perhaps more of shyness than of hubris, Nouvel's appearance is of course of little significance as opposed to his rich and surprising architectural vocabulary. At his best, he walks the fine line between a powerful gesture and functional design. He is almost never outrageous, though some of his early buildings do flirt with claustrophobic or brutal space.
The French pride themselves in being "Cartesian" or logical. This is of course a myth, or a case of wishful thinking. French art and architecture of the modern period is more often guilty of superficiality or plagiarism than it is a product of real balanced logic. Nor do the French like to be reminded that many of their greatest artists, from Picasso to Le Corbusier, were of foreign origin. This is where Jean Nouvel stands to right the balance. Truly French, he knows how to push an idea to its limit without going over the edge. There is a certain brutality in much of his work, a toughness that sets it apart from the swaying lyricism of his "rival" Christian de Portzamparc, winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize, for example. Many observers indeed wondered why Portzamparc got the Pritzker before Nouvel, but the award is known for its fundamental conservatism.
Page [1] [2]
Page [1] [2]
Architect, builder, or dreamer? To create space, a place to live, or to erect a sign in the urban chaos that all is not lost to speculation and the endless repetition of banality? To fit into an existing environment, or to create singularities, signals to those who may understand that some resist the temptations of modern conformity? These are theoretical options for the creative architect, but the pressures on the builder are such that even the strong-willed often bend and agree to play the game. What of style? Some periods have known a dominant style, one that an architect could contradict only at the risk of losing his reputation, and yet some dared precisely that, changing the direction of a profession that in the best of circumstances can become an art. These rare architects are the form givers, those who lead and break the rules, eventually to be understood by their peers and the public at large. Frank Lloyd Wright or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe set out in almost diametrically opposite directions early in the 20th century, and between them gave form to modernity. The style and thought of Wright may have been more difficult to imitate than the geometric rigor of Mies, or even the more lyrical work of Corbu, but between them, these men defined the architecture of their time. Today there is clearly no dominant style, even if computer generated "blobs" or other manifestations of technology seem to have swept over the planet like a plague.When the "new" rhymes with the ephemeral, it may be that there is a thirst for more "genuine" forms that is even greater than in times of a dominant style.
Truly French, Nouvel knows how to push an idea to its limit without going over the edge
Jean Nouvel is a giver of forms. It may be too early to place him in the pantheon of modern architecture's greatest but he has displayed a remarkable sense of measure and originality that set him apart from others of his generation. Born in 1945, he is now entering the period of his life when an architect attains recognition. Building, simply put, takes more time than painting or sculpture. And where large sums of money are concerned, clients prefer to trust a known quantity than a young upstart. Beginning with the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (1987, with Architecture Studio), the Fondation Cartier (Paris, 1995) and more recently the Culture and Convention Center, (Lucerne, 2000), the Nantes Law Courts (2000) or the Agbar Tower (Barcelona, 2005), Nouvel has moved beyond the phase of local celebrity to join the ranks of architecture's small club of international "stars," designing a tower in Tokyo or a museum in Rio, cutting a familiar figure with his black hat and tough look.
Born perhaps more of shyness than of hubris, Nouvel's appearance is of course of little significance as opposed to his rich and surprising architectural vocabulary. At his best, he walks the fine line between a powerful gesture and functional design. He is almost never outrageous, though some of his early buildings do flirt with claustrophobic or brutal space.
The French pride themselves in being "Cartesian" or logical. This is of course a myth, or a case of wishful thinking. French art and architecture of the modern period is more often guilty of superficiality or plagiarism than it is a product of real balanced logic. Nor do the French like to be reminded that many of their greatest artists, from Picasso to Le Corbusier, were of foreign origin. This is where Jean Nouvel stands to right the balance. Truly French, he knows how to push an idea to its limit without going over the edge. There is a certain brutality in much of his work, a toughness that sets it apart from the swaying lyricism of his "rival" Christian de Portzamparc, winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize, for example. Many observers indeed wondered why Portzamparc got the Pritzker before Nouvel, but the award is known for its fundamental conservatism.
Page [1] [2]
Jean Nouvel by Jean Nouvel. Complete Works 1970-2008
Hardcover, 2 Vol. in Plexiglass Box, 29 x 36.8 cm (11.4 x 14.5 in.), 898 pages
$ 700.00
$ 700.00
The work of France's most unique and internationally celebrated contemporary architect—and recipient of the 2008 Pritzker Prize. Limited to 1,000 signed and numbered copies packaged in a translucent plexiglass slipcase especially designed by Jean Nouvel for this edition.
Louvre, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2007. Photo (c) Artefactory
Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Spain, 1999–2005. Photo (c) Philippe Ruault
Quai Branly Museum, Paris (France) 1999–2006. Photo (c) Philippe Ruault