The Bordeaux-based arts and architectural gallery arc en rêve is intensively interested in engaging with the local community in the production of space — unlike the commercial machinations of urban development, which would seemingly obfuscate and minimise the possibility of public and collaborative input.
This essay is part of Issue #2 “Fair Play”, a series curated by KoozArch.
To mark the European Night of Museum 2022, arc en rêve organised a participatory workshop as part of its Garden Metropolis exhibition, devoted to the research of the architecture and urban design firm GRAU. The aim of the workshop was to involve participants, young and old, in the collaborative creation of a dream city, based on both imaginary and pragmatic aspects drawn from their day-to-day experience of urban space.
Merging dream and reality, this fictional city was intended to be a place in which the landscape and the built environment are brought into an intensely mutual relationship.
Merging dream and reality, this fictional city was intended to be a place in which the landscape and the built environment are brought into an intensely mutual relationship. Drawing on both concrete elements from the work of GRAU and contributions of the participants, and conceived in the form of a palimpsest of coloured paper, this imaginary city evolved over the course of the evening according to the contributions of visitors, culminating in the creation of a collaborative "confetti city".
When it comes to both the design and implementation of urban projects, we face an industry that has been conceived as a restricted, even protected, domain.
In stark contrast to similar actions carried out for communication or commercial purposes, this initiative called into question the inability of the private or public urban development operators to adopt genuinely participatory approaches. When it comes to both the design and implementation of urban projects, we face an industry that has been conceived as a restricted, even protected, domain. From finance to marketing, the sector that is directly responsible for a significant proportion of CO2 emissions — via the extractivist logic that governs its approach to building materials — prefers to preserve its prerogatives rather than share decision-making on cities with the people who live in them.
Such actions, giving the appearance of a virtuous and democratic process to speculative urban production, are nowadays manifested through the countless mediation and consultation initiatives that accompany various urban projects.
Unfortunately, this reluctance is often disguised by performative or demagogic actions that result in a staged participatory process, without actually influencing the development of the projects. Such actions, giving the appearance of a virtuous and democratic process to speculative urban production, are nowadays manifested through the countless mediation and consultation initiatives that accompany various urban projects.
This contrasts sharply with the spirit of the workshop held in 2022 at arc en rêve, which was not performed in the service of an alleged posture; rather, it independently pursued the educational objective of introducing children to concerns of architecture and urban design. Enabling such actions, independent of any manipulation, is undoubtedly the fundamental mission of the Bordeaux architecture centre. It aims to educate and raise awareness in an uninhibited way, offering a valuable and engaged alternative to the current practices of urban design.
Bio
arc en rêve is a project in action since 1981: exhibitions, conferences, workshops and experiments to build a shared architectural culture and open our eyes to a changing world.
