Bernard Tschumi "La Case Vide"

Bernard Tschumi, La Case Vide "the fragments of the cube relocate to form a combinatory matrix of folies" (1985) (click on image for better view)


Aching with effort to understand ideas of Bernard Tschumi, I have looked back at the work done for my written Masters degree in 2003. After 7 years I find I now have a deeper understanding of my interests, particularly in so-called Deconstructivist Architecture, and in how space shapes our experiences (and we shape it?).

I can now read my written work with a critical interest not available to me at that pressurised time in my life. I hope I can build on this work, both in writing and in artwork. For me the two processes inform each other. It is very exciting to revisit my writing and to have a medium, such as lithography or drawing, in which to explore the ideas further.


The illustration above shows how Tschumi took separate elements, many of them derived from his drawings for Manhattan Transcripts, and reassembled them in different combinations to create the ambiguous red "folies" which punctuate the Parc de la Villette.

Many commentators say that, far from being radically new and examples of the radical philosophy of deconstructivism, these folies look similar to the drawings and ideas of Constructivism, the post revolutionary Russian movement. This may be so, but it is a circuitous route as there is a direct connection with the elements from Manhattan Transcripts.

I have booked an overnight trip to Paris in early March, courtesy the very low cost airline, Ryanair, so that I can see this Parc again. I do not like Ryanair, nor do I wish to increase my carbon footprint more than necessary, but this time am making an exceptiion lol.