As part of the MIDIS ARCHI lecture series, you are cordially invited by the interior architecture department of HEAD–Genève to attend Philippe Rahm's lecture in French on the St-Etienne and Versailles biennials, in which HEAD students are taking part, which will take place on Tuesday 20 May 2025 from 12.30 to 1.30 pm.

1. Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne: Climate Design calls for a revival of the practical purpose of interior decoration—something we have lost with the rise of fossil energy powering radiators, air conditioning, and electric lighting. Until the early 20th century, interior decoration in the Western world served a practical role: protecting against the cold, blocking drafts, and more. The goal here is to reconsider the thermal value of decorative arts, to work with principles such as convection, conduction, and thermal emissivity, and to rethink the materiality of “emmobilier”—that “decorative” layer of interiors that lies between real estate and furniture—from a new perspective of climatic performance.

2. Biennale d’architecture et de paysage d’Île-de-France: Scientific studies show that France will face a temperature rise of +4°C by the year 2100. Its currently temperate climate will shift toward a subtropical one. This exhibition looks southward, toward regions already facing hotter climates, to find models for how to build in France today—architectural solutions that can withstand rising heat. The exhibition is presented by the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Versailles.