Every architectural project seeks to achieve an ideal in terms of function, space, materials, light, and its relationship to its surroundings. It is possible to come closer to this ideal by examining architecture and its inherent resources. The room, the plan, the form, geometry, and construction can thus evoke a powerful and immediate experience through unexpected architectural configurations. In this way, architecture creates a surprising link between a sense of beauty and the experience of feeling fully at one with the world. The enduring nature of these resources in practice serves as a guide to navigating the world’s growing complexity and the many challenges of inhabiting it. Ultimately, architecture is always about use, materials, the relationship between interior and exterior, and about form, rooms, and space in which human activities can flourish.
It is this optimism that Jean-Christophe Quinton conveys in the exhibition Room and Form: An Elementary Poetics of Architecture. Twelve architectural elements are presented through a spatial arrangement of interconnected rooms that transforms the exhibition galleries in a unique way. The architect invites visitors on a poetic journey to engage with these essential elements of design. Through models, drawings, photographs, and plans, he makes his approach accessible to all. Through modular constructions that generate new spatial experiences, visitors are invited to engage directly with architecture and grasp its full potential.
This exhibition embodies the conviction that linking form, beauty, and ideal produces an architecture that enables us to live better—with ourselves, with others, and with the world.
Florent Schwartz and Jean-Christophe Quinton