Since 2006, every year in June during a few days, the courtyards of several hotels particuliers in Montpellier are let to young architects or landscape architects. The aim is to present innovant works, but also some architectural treasures of the city. The courtyards mainly date from the 17th-18th C. - with older remains, and often unfortunate recent additions. Some hotels participate from year to year, some others, never (hostellerie du chapeau rouge...). You can find some historical informations here.
For 2 years, the festival continues in La Grande-Motte, seaside ressort built in the 1970s, set on the list of the "Patrimoine du XXe siècle".
The challenge given to the candidates is to invest the place they are given for a few days with an installation, on the theme of the year, having a special link with the place. Students of the Architecture School present the installations to the visitors. The theme of the year was : sensuality.
Sensuality...
The flamenco dancer was worth watching. One could turn around her, under a red ceiling... It might have been funnier with music and sangria, or castanets on disposal.
The installation with the apples was appetizing - it smelled good, and the image of the red on green lips (made of apples) about to swallow "falling" apples was motivating.
The allusion to sex was a bit to present... sensuality is not sexuality. Yet there were 2 beds, and this allusion to original sin with apples.
The favorite candidates of the FAV jury were the authors of "Savon[s]". The tiled floor of stones was covered with soap tiles - parallelipipeds of green (2 tones) Marseilles soap. It was attracting to the eyes (soft curbs...), nose, feet... you could walk barefoot on it, except Friday when it rained.
One was also invited to walk barefoot in the installation the public prefered: a straw bed with straw cushions in a straw garden... The authors might have added animals and shepherds. It smelt good. I forgot using my nose to smell during years. I didn't notice fragrances; informations on bad smells arrived to my brain, but quite attenuated. Modern times tend to reduce humans to a pair of eyes and a sexuality. Noises and smells are pollutions (type on google search: "le bruit et l'odeur").
The third price was given to Medusa - black jellyfishes made with umbrellas. They were quite nice under the rain on Friday afternoon.
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