The origins of brick go back to the Egyptians (30000 BC). Shaped from the natural raw material of earth, fired or uncooked, its production method has evolved considerably with industrialization and, more recently, in response to climate changes issues.
The Exhibition What do you want Brick?, whose title is borrowed from Louis Kahn, will feature some 50 works, from the modernist era to the present day. Architects have seized on the traditional standard brick as a building system, while diversifying their forms and materials. The structural elements evolve into facade motifs or claustras. Brick variations in bio-sourced raw materials and the reuse of waste from demolition and industrial overproduction represent major research alternatives applied to construction.
On a completely different scale, the artists and designers featured in the exhibition divert brick clay from its original purpose, giving it a whole new range of uses, both functional and symbolic, as many possible variations on this simple, multi-purpose form.
Artists, designers and architects
Alvar Aalto, Olivier Vadrot, Baptiste Meyniel, Patrick Fry, Michele Ciacciofera, Harun Farocki, Jorge Mendez Blake, Bosco Sodi, Filip Dujardin, Jan Vormann, Pinaffo Pluvinage, Joseph Albers, Raphael Zarka, Bijoy Jain, Bram Van Derbeke, Moon Seop Seo, Anupama Kundoo, Gaoussou Traoré, MVRDV, Pierre Culot, les Frères Campana, Nathalie du Pasquier, Frédérick Gauthier, Atelier Polyhèdre, Francis Kéré, Arturo Franco, BC Material, Ellie Birkhead, Aurélien Veyrat, Gabriela Medero, Studio Eidola, Floris Wubben.
Researchers
Male Uribe Forés, Booserm Premthada, Shreyas More et Meenal Sutaria, François Azambourg, Aléa studio, Marijke Jans, Maria-Elena Pombo, MPH Architects, Hors Studio, Samuel Tomatis, Li Xiao-Ming, Suzanne Lambert, Nzambi Matee, Suzanna Skurka et Natural Material Studio, Anna Saint Pierre, Bart Lunenburg, Clarisse Merlet.
Curator: Caroline Naphegyi
Set designer: Marie Douel
