IM MEUBLE Clarté questions the classification of architectural heritage in the context of Geneva. Occupying the ground floor of the Clarté building by Le Corbusier gives KOSMOS studio a platform for exploration around what is categorized as valuable enough to be cared for. It interrogates the contradictions between heritage preservation and the active life of architectural space, responding to the challenges of contemporary society.

Building upon the major importance given by Le Corbusier to common and public space, the semester questions the museumification of classified buildings, turning them into dated architectural sculptures praised for their architectural composition but failing to address both the climatic and social problems of the city they are part of. As Modernist architects praised the free plan, free façade, and open ground floors, their buildings have now turned into climatized places with glazed facades that need more fueled energy every year to be preserved as such. As city land pressure increases constantly in Geneva (as well as in Western urban areas in general) and produces the privatization of the city, buildings classified as part of public and collective heritage are considered fragile art pieces without life. The studio questions what we should preserve from modernist architectures: should we maintain their built formalization as timeless art pieces, stationary testimonies of an era, or the social practices and rituals they were willing to enact through their architecture? How can we deviate from the strict norms and rules of preservation and transform the preserved buildings and listed masterpieces according to the needs of contemporary climate and energy standards, while not ruining the appearance and atmosphere of the monuments?

To grasp these problems, the students organized a series of cross-disciplinary public events throughout the semester, each of which provide an opportunity to critically look at the legacy of Modernism and to reenact a lively common space in the center of Geneva. Shaped as a collective kitchen, a climatic refuge, a depository of secondhand materials, a cinema, a social club, or a laundry, the ground floor of the Clarté building (1932) celebrates the social practices allowed by its patrimonial architecture.

PROGRAM

Story Night
Monday, 16th of October, 7:30 pm
Projection of Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock.

Not a Round Table
Tuesday, 14th of November, 5:30 pm
Discussion around the construction of heritage with: Thierry Buache, Julisa Voinov Roten, Jakob Junghanss

Bodies in Space
Monday, 27th of November, and Tuesday, 28th of November, 10 am – 6 pm
Dance workshop with Gerard and Kelly around the relationship between modernist architecture and inhabiting bodies.

Carte Blanche
Monday, 4th of December, and Tuesday, 5th of December, 10 am – 6 pm
Collective painting workshop of the walls and floors of the space, discussion around the maintenance, cleaning, and caring for the built environment in a protected building context.

Building Workshop
Monday, 18th of December, and Tuesday, 19th of December, 10 am – 6 pm
Repairing and building furniture workshop.

Final Jury and Collective Dinner
Tuesday, 15th of January, 10 am – 10 pm
We invite back the cooks of the Darshana Restaurant to prepare a collective meal, to celebrate their occupation of the place as part of the collective heritage of the building.