The exquisite corpse is a challenging literary exercise.
Any new addition adds to the previously added. Adding, by the same token, a multitude of additions to a collective work with added flavor. This is the magic of this exercise, definitely the most stimulating, to stage infinite possibilities of associations. Now let's introduce, with total freedom of adhesion and expression, this lively idea into the Maison de la littérature. Let's create a dynamic movement and weave the narrative thread of an evolving experience. Each gesture allows us to discover, compare references, deepen ideas, contribute to a network of enthusiasts, and achieve a true appropriation of the place. All the means implemented, from the architecture to the staging, contribute to developing our taste for literature. They allow, in a conscious and unconscious way, to make significant and symbolic the images which spring up in our mind, and to leave a tangible print of our passage.
The threshold
Outside the building, a large and bright threshold welcomes us. Crossing this open passageway already sparks the imagination. The entire Maison de la littérature is studded with architectural focal points, our gaze constantly challenged. We walk towards a large arch, the preamble to a world to be discovered.
The bookmark
Once inside, we are given a personalized bookmark. A real sesame that accompanies and divulges, throughout our peregrinations, elements of interpretation, quotations, content capsules, images, videos and animations whose unveiling can be orchestrated in a theatrical way.
Outreach
Whether we are scholars or simple neophytes, the Maison de la littérature democratizes. It creates a living network and endless ramifications, well beyond its walls. It sharpens our interest and invites us to write, to meet other enthusiasts, to consult new books, which themselves refer to other themes, other currents, other books. Endless evolutionary movement. The exquisite corpse is built, addition after addition...
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Like the winning entry, this one proposes to clear the existing volume of the Wesley Temple. "The void is created: it is the principle of evocation. The bistro, which takes place in the middle of the original nave of the temple without touching it, provides both an immediate reading of the original volume and solves the problem of the constructive relationship between the old and the new. This is eminently compatible with the spirit of the place. This strategy, less invasive and simpler spatially than those of the other two finalist projects, allows for both the preservation of existing assets and an openness to future changes. The choice to elevate the literary bistro, however, comes with at least two major constraints, which the jury did not consider simple to resolve:
(a) the low visibility of the literary bistro as seen from the other functions and, by extension, from the lobby and public space;
b) the difficulties of controlling the acoustics of the space, whose problems are amplified by the size of the void around the bistro and by the concave ceiling that tops it. From a scenographic point of view, the concept raised interest, but also discussions within the jury. The individual "bookmark" was seen by some as an interesting advance, using contemporary, accessible and inexpensive technology.
Users are not constrained by a particular layout that normally follows from a more traditional scenographic approach, but are free to go where they want when they want, to have their own experience of literature. For others, this solution sidesteps the question of the scenography of the space, relegating it to a technological device that is not unique to the Maison de la littérature. From an architectural point of view, the concept was deemed appropriate for the site, although a little too conventional in relation to the ambitions expressed in the program to make the Maison de la littérature an exceptional project.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
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