The Mies van der Rohe foundation presents “Never Demolish” a temporary intervention by curators Ilka and Andreas Ruby that explores the “Transformation of 530 dwellings in the Grand Parc Bordeaux” project by the Pritzker laureates Lacaton & Vassal architects, Frédéric Druot Architecture, and Christophe Hutin Architecture. Running until December 16th, the pavilion is transformed into a domestic space that allows visitors to "deepen the debate on housing and the rehabilitation model of the large-scale blocks of the 60s and 70s".
530 Dwellings in the Grand Parc Bordeaux was awarded with the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award in 2019. The intervention at the pavilion opens up a debate on the subject of housing and how the award-winning project generates new ideas for the social and physical rehabilitation of housing blocks of the modern movement, and its influence on residents, architects, urban planners, developers, heritage conservators, and politicians.
The project tackles large-scale housing in the 60s and 70s, and how they were built as a solution to meet the growing need for housing. Five decades later, however, they became seen as outdated, "urbanistically failed", and licensed to be demolished. The intervention “Never Demolish”, which is added to the Pavilion’s intervention program, explains how these overlooked buildings should in fact have a better second chance, and be regenerated into a space that improves the quality of life of the inhabitants.
All four architects and curators explained their experiences during the process of transformation of the project, and how they decided to transform an iconic space like the Pavilion, into a domestic space occupied with everyday objects such as the closet, sofa, plants, curtains, television and lights. The intervention will be complemented with a talk at the COAC about housing and transformation projects with: Lacaton & Vassal architects, Frédéric Druot Architecture, Christophe Hutin Architecture, Ilka and Andreas Ruby, Assumpció Puig, Josep Ferrando, Sandra Bestraten, Xavier Matilla and Anna Ramos.
