David, Alice, Tait : sites 1, 7, 10

Jessica and Charles - Site 2 and 8

Liz, Brantley and Megan: sites 2, 5 and 7

Melissa & Rachel-  Site 2, 4, 9 

Program

RSAP Spring Studio 2010

“How does Spinoza define a body? A body, of whatever kind, is defined by Spinoza in two simultaneous ways. In the first place, a body, however small it may be, is composed of an infinite number of particles; it is the relations of motion and rest, of speeds and slowness between particles, that define a body, the individuality of a body. Secondly, a body affects other bodies, or is affected, that also defines a body in its individuality.”

Gilles Deleuze

studio critic: Pierre David

The purpose of the class is to immerse ourselves within - and in between - the dynamics of transformation and extension of the city of Paris. Paris can be truly understood only if we look beyond the commonly held image of the nineteenth century capital and extend our view past the analysis of the city as static artifact. Although the city we see today might present a coherent and homogenous image, over its history Paris has developed around underlying infrastructures and within an expanding sequence of physical boundaries, each of which has left its trace. We will attempt to understand the dynamics of the city’s extension in order to develop a response to its evolution, and rather than propose representations and interpretations of the city as a theatrical entity we will try to catch the complexity of the city’s interactions at unguarded moments.

-The Cardo Maximus of Lutetia (Roman Paris) originates on the island of Cité. Its route to the north merges with the Rue St. Denis and to the south with the Rue St. Jacques.

This year we will work on the southern part of this axis. While this axis brought about one of the first extensions of the city, other axes superimposed themselves upon it, removed or replaced the initial axis. Some of these alternative routes are:

- The Roman aqueduct, along a distance of 26 km, built in the first and second century and linking the springs of Rungis and Wissous to the Ile de la Cité thanks to a gravity-based system. It passes through l’Hay les Roses and Gentilly, and crosses the Bièvre valley at Arcueil, which required construction works. In Paris, it passes through the Parc Montsouris and enters the city parallel to the Rue St. Jacques.

- On June 21, 1667 the mathematicians of the Academy drew the Paris meridian. The Paris observatory was built on this axis. Starting from the building, the axis extends northward through the observatory gardens, and going southward it disappears into the fabric of Paris to reappear in the form of a south-facing view in the Parc Montsouris.

- Boulevard Saint Michel created by Baron Haussmann in the nineteenth century. It is parallel to the Rue St. Jacques and therefore to the aqueduct.

- In 1845, the Paris to Orléans railroad company built the Sceaux line with the terminus located at the Luxembourg gardens. On December 9, 1977, the RER B took over this first line by following the route laid down by the Romans to construct the Lutetia aqueduct.

- Route Nationale 7 (RN7), known as the “Blue Highway”, starts from the square in front of Notre Dame and passes through the Porte d’Italie, Kremlin Bicêtre, Villejuif, l’Haye lesRoses, Vitry sur Seine and Menton.

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We will study 5 sites along these axes, from hyper-center to the edges of the plain of France.

Each of these sites will undergo an architectural development. 2/3 of the surface program will be identical over these 5 sites. The remaining 1/3 of the program will be based on an appropriate response to the project situation in context.

Site Locations