The Social Condenser – the Last Grand Ensemble in Paris’s Banlieues

Anne Kockel­korn

 

This rese­arch pro­ject inves­ti­ga­tes the junc­tu­re bet­ween archi­tec­tu­ral pro­duc­tion and socie­ty and ques­ti­ons its effect on archi­tec­tu­ral dis­cour­se, design, and prac­ti­ce. In doing so, it offers a case stu­dy of Ricar­do Bofill’s resi­den­ti­al com­plex Les Espaces d’Abraxas. The histo­ry of the com­plex exem­pli­fies the buil­ding poli­cy of 1970s France from the archi­tec­tu­re of the post­war wel­fa­re sta­te to an ear­ly form of neo­li­be­ral urban development.

Start: Febru­ary 2011