Bernard Tschumi is a renowned French architect and educator known for deconstructivism. He graduated from ETH Zurich and is recognized for works like Parc de La Villette. Tschumi believes architecture should not dictate events and has taught at several top schools. For the New Concert Hall in Limoges, Tschumi explored transforming the concept to use sustainable wood, resulting in an energy-efficient double-skinned design with wood trusses that complements the forest site.

1. Bernard Tschumi Architects
Bernard Tschumi (born
January 25, 1944) is
an architect, writer, and
educator, commonly
associated
with deconstructivism.
Bernard Tschumi is widely
recognized as one of
today’s foremost
architects.

2. • graduate of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in
1969
• First known as a theorist until 1983 when he won the presti gious
competition for the Parc de La Villette.
• awarded France’s Grand Prix National d’Architecture in 1996 as well as
numerous awards from the American Institute of Architects and the
National Endowment for the Arts.
• taught at Architectural Association in London, Princeton University, and
The Cooper Union in New York
• was dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and
Preservation at Columbia University from 1988 to 2003 -currently a
professor
• published 4 books- Event- Cities, Architecture and Disjunction Tschumi,
and The Manhattan Transcripts
• work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the
Venice Architecture Biennale, the Netherlands Architecture Institute in
Rotterdam, the Pompidou Center in Paris
• believes that there is no fixed relationship between architectural form
and the events that happen inside it

5. • 1. Quickly diagram several alternative concepts, spatial
configurations, or strategies. Then immediately leave them
aside. If any of them are valid, they will reappear at a later
stage.
2. Take the program. Assign dimensions, places, and
relationships; distinguish between generic and
specific programmatic spaces; test alternatives. Do it quickly;
be precise, but not necessarily detailed.
3. Introduce circulation or vectors of movement, establish
priorities in how the building will be used and experienced.
Enhance sequences (test alternatives). Establish whether
the envelope is unitary or broken down into two or more sub-
envelopes in relation to the findings of steps 1 and 2. Look at
material options.
4. Test alternatives. If applicable, take advantage of the
site constraints: zoning constraints, slope, height limitations,
potential materials as per climate or local construction
industry, but with a broad approach.

6. 5. Then, only then, begin conceptual work. Do not start with a
form. Make concept emerge, balancing steps 1 to 4. No form,
please (unless it can become a generating concept). What is
a concept? There is no answer to this. There can be no restriction
to what a concept or overriding idea is. The concept must allow
for the resolution of steps 1 to 4.
6. Then, only then, let the image or the architecture emerge.
Select final materials; architecture is
the materialization of concepts. The image will emerge with
energy and evidence. Sometimes the image is no image, if
the concept calls for no image.
7. As the project (concept) is developed, weaving into it all
technical constraints and construction details, keep utmost clarity
in mind. Never do anything for design’s sake, work only
for concept’s sake. (Stay on concept the way one stays on
message: Repeat, repeat, repeat. Edit, edit, edit.) Construction or
budget constraints are good ways to clarify priorities.
8. You may break rules, but never at the expense of concept.

7. Located only 300 meters (980 feet)
Southeast of the Parthenon, with an
exhibition space of 14,000 square meters
and a cost of €130 million, the New
Acropolis Museum houses some of the
most famous works of classical antiquity.
It aims at providing the visitors with a
comprehensive picture of the human
presence on the Acropolis, from the pre-
historic times through late Antiquity, with
the advantage of being built on the slope
of the Acropolis itself.

10. The visitor's route through the museum forms a clear
three-dimensional loop,
A circulation route narrates a rich spatial experience
from the city street into the historical world of the
different periods of archeological inquiry.

11. the whole building is on stilts. The ground floor is really structured so as to reveal the excavations, which is why you have all the glass,
including the glass ramp leading to the galleries.
This level contains the entrance lobby as well as temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium, and all support facilities.

12. Transparent glass ramp over archeological excavations in the Lobby of the Acropolis Museum
The Slope Gallery :
The glass ramp reveals ancient remains that
were excavated during the building’s
construction, thus providing a sense of continuity
between the Acropolis and the museum site
itself.
At the end of the ramp the visitors come across
the large finds of the “Hekatompedon”, the first
large temple of the Goddess Athena on the
Acropolis.

13. View of the Archaic Gallery
double-height space that soars to 10 meters (33 feet), accommodating the galleries from the Archaic to the late Roman
period.
A mezzanine features a bar and restaurant (with a public terrace looking out toward the Acropolis) and multimedia space.

15. Parthenon gallery showing views of the Temple on the right
Parthenon Frieze in a gallery with views over the city, and back down through the Roman period.
Movement in and through time is an important aspect of architecture, and of this museum in particular. With
more than 10,000 visitors expected daily, the movement sequence through the museum artifacts
is designed to be of the utmost clarity”

16. rooftop gallery in glass to the exact proportions of the Parthenon itself, they
put the marbles in their original context but protected from the sun.
For this they incorporates high performance coated glazing products and a
double skin that includes shading screens for the most exposed elevations.
Low iron glass is used to maximize light color integrity and black fritting is
provided for complementary glare protection.

17. The three major materials used for its
construction are glass for the facades and
some of the floors, concrete for the core
and the columns, as well as marble for the
galleries.

18. The program for the extension of the TGV network in southern France includes a
passage through the town of la Roche sur Yon. The town is modernizing the train
station and replacing an 1890’s footbridge over the railway tracks.
The town is separated by the railway tracks into two parts: the historical central
neighborhood, which contains the ‘Pentagon’ planned by Napoleon on one side
and it’s contemporary counterpart with its modern facilities (stadium, school and
residential zones)one the other.
67 meters (35+32 spans)
201 square meters of concrete deck
160 tons of total weight, of which 130 tons of steel ie 1,9 tons per linear meter
76 circular diaphragms, 2100 compressive diagonals, 600 tensile rods
4300 meters of profi les, about 10 km of welding, 1800 conical nodes

19. there is no architecture without movement. A pedestrian bridge is not
just a static object , but represents a dynamic vector in both its usage
and urban perception.
The designers have sought to express this dynamic characteristic, as
much through the structural system as through finishing materials.
Even the bright red-orange color was chosen to emphasize the
urban significance of the bridge as a pedestrian vector.
The ambition of the town, is not only to create a symbolic
link between the two neighborhoods, but equally to celebrate
the arrival of the TGV.

22. La Roche sur Yon is the
birthplace of Robert le Ricolais.
This heritage, both intellectual
and historical, has inspired the
design of the footbridge.
The intention of the designers
was to demonstrate an
integration of an original
structural system with an
architectural concept
developed from urban scale
research of neighborhood
identity and carried through
the expression of the minutest
details.

24. The design of the new bridge uses the same language of a diagonal mesh,
but in a tubular from, to create a complete cylindrical volume through which
the users pass. Footbridges over railways require lateral protection for safety of
both the users and the trains below.
The complete volume provides a single structural solution.

31. The Concert Hall in Limoges, located in the center of France
architecture is the materialization of a concept, what if the
concept remains the same, but the material changes?
explored the implications of such a transformation with a
new variation
With a comprehensive approach to sustainability, Tschumi
designed this building with sustainable materials and energy
conservation in mind.
In that light, use of wood was an choice due to its low
carbon footprints, renewability, recyclability and excellent
sound insulation properties.

32. The public area can also accommodate shows,
exhibitions, and open-air events, and permits lighting
installations and temporary structures.
This public plaza opens toward the respective entrances
of the exhibition hall and the concert hall, allowing the
public to be welcomed into the most generous spaces.
The symmetry also provides functional advantages,
permitting the theater to be reconfigured into three
smaller volumes

33. detached and fragmented envelope opens in
two directions, towards both the forest and the
road. Between the two envelopes
Additionally, two straight “flying” staircases
extend directly toward the top row of seats.
Much of the material treatment is determined
by energy conservation and sustainability
considerations.
Acoustics play a major role in the treatment of
the inner envelope, both internally and
externally. In the auditorium, strong absorption
is required for an 8,000-spectator-capacity hall,
while in the large, 1800- square-meter foyer,
absorbent and reflective materials are
alternated to generate more varied
ambiences and acoustic effects.

34. The configuration of the double envelope with circulation in-
between is a scheme that is advantageous for both acoustical and
thermal reasons.
The 5 cm-thick, semi-rigid, polycarbonate sheeting, with its multiple
inner layers of cells, provides for both insulation and natural light
filtration. The highest portion of the facade has a pixelated design
silk-screened directly on the shell for additional solar protection.

35. In the auditorium, strong absorption is required for an 8,000-spectator-capacity hall, while
in the large, 1800- square-meter foyer, absorbent and reflective materials are alternated to
generate more varied ambiences and acoustic effects.
The soft translucency of the polycarbonate complements the wood frame by
allowing light to filter in and out of the building, which keeps energy costs down by
day and provides energy-efficient signage when the building is active in the
evening.

38. Tension cables hold the middle of the spans, permitting a lighter
truss system.
The use of wood was suggested by the location of the hall, in a
clearing within a large forest surrounded by trees over 200 years
old. The region also has an active timber industry.
The entry lobby is located in between the two skins