Claude Parent: the utopianist of the territory

The Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine in Paris plays homage to the visionary work of an unusual architect.Words Maria Cristina Tommasini.

His utopian vision left him on the margins for many long years, this same vision however has made him a success worldwide, now with a new generation: Claude Parent (1923) was an unusual architect and at the same time a hero of modernity. Although he no longer practices professionally, Parent continues to provoke thought with his visionary designs, now on show in an exhibition at the Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine, commissioned by François de Mazières and Francis Rambert, that illustrates a wide range of meticulously presented work.

This first monograph dedicated to Parent has been designed by none other than Jean Nouvel, who began his career as architect in Parent's studio. In the long and narrow space given over to temporary exhibitions at the Cité du Architecture & du Patrimoine, Nouvel has created an installation that uses light (natural and artificial), material and rhythm to set up a fragmented route that emphasises the pleasure of discovery, drawing attention to the design drawings of the built works as well as the splendid visionary representations, that fully justify the second part of the title (Oeuvre graphique) of the exhibition, truly able to "reform the link with experimental space).

Paul Virilio, who was Claude Parent's partner for a brief but intense period before setting himself polemically apart in 1968, recently defined him as a "utopianist of the territory". Together, Parent and Virilio were involved in "the Function of the Oblique", a theory that saw in the church of Sainte Bernadette du Banlay at Nevers (1963-1968) one of its manifestations. Another was at the Maison Drusch in Versailles (1963-1965), that with its inclined load-bearing structure seems to truly play with the very notion of space. According to Parent, living on an oblique floor would be the only way to escape the rationality of modern space. Jean Nouvel's design for the Philharmonie de Paris, due for completion, perhaps will be displaying the merits of this theory. MCT
Hôtel de Ville, Esplanade François Mitterand, Lillebonne. 1993-1998. © Collection Frac Centre, Orléans
Hôtel de Ville, Esplanade François Mitterand, Lillebonne. 1993-1998. © Collection Frac Centre, Orléans
Sketches by Claude Parent, 1999-2006. © Gaston Bergeret - Archives Claude Parent
Sketches by Claude Parent, 1999-2006. © Gaston Bergeret - Archives Claude Parent
Église Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers. 1963-1966. Avec Paul Virilio, Odette Ducarre, Morice Lipsi et Michel Carrade. © François Lauginie 
Collection FRAC CENTRE, Orléans
Église Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers. 1963-1966. Avec Paul Virilio, Odette Ducarre, Morice Lipsi et Michel Carrade. © François Lauginie Collection FRAC CENTRE, Orléans
Eglise Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers. Le flanc nord et l’abside en porte-à-faux. Photo © Dominique Delaunay
Eglise Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers. Le flanc nord et l’abside en porte-à-faux. Photo © Dominique Delaunay
Eglise Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers. Le flanc nord et l’abside en porte-à-faux. Photo © Dominique Delaunay
Eglise Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers. Le flanc nord et l’abside en porte-à-faux. Photo © Dominique Delaunay
Nuclear power plant of Cattenom, Moselle, 1978. Photo © Dominique Delaunay 2009
Nuclear power plant of Cattenom, Moselle, 1978. Photo © Dominique Delaunay 2009
Maison Drusch, Versailles, 1963-1965. Photo © Dominique Delaunay
Maison Drusch, Versailles, 1963-1965. Photo © Dominique Delaunay

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