2. • An architect, writer, and educator, commonly
associated with deconstructivism.
• He studied, works and lives in Paris and New York.
• He was born of French and Swiss parentage.
• He studied in Paris and at ETH in Zurich, where he
received his degree in architecture in 1969.
ABOUT TSCHUMI
3. HIS BELIEFS
•Tschumi has argued that there is no fixed
relationship between architectural form and the
events that take place within it.
•He emphasized the establishment of a non-
hierarchical architecture to achieve balance
through programmatic and spatial devices.
4. •He used the event of montage* as a
technique for the organization of program
(systems of space, event, and movement, as
well as visual and formal techniques)
•His designs strive to integrate into the
His designs strive to integrate into the
environment they encompass in a way that
environment they encompass in a way that
they work functionally and visually portray his
they work functionally and visually portray his
design intentions and not in a way that they
design intentions and not in a way that they
blend in the surroundings.
blend in the surroundings.
*A single pictorial composition made by superimposing many pictures or
designs.
5. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STYLE
Tschumi’s style of design is often an integration
Tschumi’s style of design is often an integration
of linear and curvature forms in his architecture.
of linear and curvature forms in his architecture.
The primary basis of Tschumi’s designs is the
The primary basis of Tschumi’s designs is the
grid. Whether it be horizontal or vertical, angled
grid. Whether it be horizontal or vertical, angled
or straight, it is usually a dominant part of his
or straight, it is usually a dominant part of his
designs.
designs.
PARC DE LA VILLETE,PARIS
The grids incorporated in his designs are usually
The grids incorporated in his designs are usually
derived from characteristics of the building site
derived from characteristics of the building site
or the city.
or the city.
6. In each of Tschumi’s projects pictured below, the
In each of Tschumi’s projects pictured below, the
linear and curvature qualities of the grid and the
linear and curvature qualities of the grid and the
curve are key elements that define Tschumi’s
curve are key elements that define Tschumi’s
architectural design style.
architectural design style.
7. Tschumi derives the elements of his designs
Tschumi derives the elements of his designs
forms from:
forms from:
Existing cyclical patterns:
Existing cyclical patterns:
Vehicular, Pedestrian, Sun/Shadow
Vehicular, Pedestrian, Sun/Shadow
Linear connections to relevant city features:
Linear connections to relevant city features:
Parks, Museums, Public Spaces,
Parks, Museums, Public Spaces,
Monuments, Natural Land Features
Monuments, Natural Land Features
Topography patterns within the building site.
Topography patterns within the building site.
9. HISTORY
•Tschumi won a major design competition and
sought the opinions of the deconstructionist
philosopher, Jacques Derrida and was chosen from
over 470 entries including that of Zaha Hadid and
Jean Nouvel.
•It was built from 1984 to 1987 on the site of the
huge Parisian slaughterhouses and the national
wholesale meat market, as part of an urban
redevelopment project.
10. DESIGN: POINTS,LINES,SURFACES
POINTS:
•The 135 acre site is organized spatially through a
grid of 35 points, or what Tschumi calls follies.
Follies give a dimensional
and organizational to the
park serving as points
of reference.
The repetitive nature of
each folly, even though
each one is unique and
different, allow for the
visitors to retain a sense
of place through the large
park.
11. FOLLIES
•Probably the most iconic pieces of the park,
the follies act as architectural representations
of deconstruction.
•Some of the follies have been converted into
restaurants, offices, and information centers
for the park.
FOLLIES
FOLLIES
FOLLIES
FOLLIES
12. LINES:
Lines are the main
movement paths
across the park
The paths do not follow any organizational structure; rather
they intersect and lead to various points of intersection within
the park and the surrounding urban area.
NORTH-SOUTH AXIS
EAST-WEST AXIS
13. SURFACES:
•Of the 135 acres, 85 acres are dedicated to the
green space, which are categorized as surfaces.
SURFACES
SURFACES
SURFACES
SURFACES
SURFACES
14. DECONSTRUCTIVISM - IDEAS
Tschumi was not particularly interested in either
the real or virtual worlds, separately, but he was
attracted to the tension between those two
worlds and felt that when the real and the virtual
worlds come together, tension is created and the
potential for design begins.
He wanted the park to be a space for activity and
interaction that would evoke a sense of freedom.
He designed the Parc de la Villette with the
intention of creating a space that exists in a
vacuum, something without historical precedent.
15. EVENTS OF THE PERIOD THAT MAY
HAVE INFLUENCED HIS DESIGN
In 1976 Tschumi gave his students at the
Architectural Association a project: They were to
take James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake and design
a landscape plan from the text. Each student
was assigned a point on a grid of Covent Garden
in London, Tschumi’s way of organizing the
students to get a lot of work done.This project was
named Joyce’s Garden and would be one of the
concepts used for Parc de le Villette seven years
later.
In 1976 Tschumi was doing some research called the
Screenplays or the Manhattan Transcripts in which he
was experimenting with movement, events and the
systems of points, lines and surfaces. He was testing
ideas on movements and the dynamic of events and
activity, and this became his deciding strategy to enter
the competition for Parc de le Villette and use multiple
devices to organize complexity.
17. CRITICISM
•The People for Public Spaces inducted
his Parc de la Villette into their Hall of Shame
for lacking sensitivity for its human users.
•Parc de la Villette is often criticized as being
too large being designed without consideration
for the human scale and hence becomes an
analytical and conceptual approach to the way a
human feels within a larger urban setting.
18. •While the follies are meant to exist in a
deconstructive vacuum without historical relation,
many have found connections between the steel
structures and the previous buildings that were part
of the old industrial fabric of the area.
THE PLAN OF THE PARK CONTRASTING THE
GRID OF THE CITY
20. •The Grand Hall was built in 1867 by Jules
Mérindol.
•It is an immense building of iron and glass
at the entrance to the Villette Park and
provides a huge space for cultural
program.
•It was an enormous structure without
showing any proportional relation to the
human scale
