Paris Pavilion

paris pavilion : the art of peace

paris, france

beginnings

With the acts of violence and unmerciful harm humanity has committed on itself, peace has become the façade of hope for both victims and the concerned. Terrorism sporadically rears it's atrocious face, harming some of the most culturally influential cities and countries such as New York, Madrid, Paris, Nigeria, Belgium, Mumbai, Iraq, Ukraine, The Philippines; the list continues. The Paris Pavilion is an idea and conceptual based competition devoted to the design of a temporary structure with the objective to exhibit hope and tolerance to the people of Paris through the vocabulary of art and architecture.

Champ de Mars // Paris, France

“As I speak, terrorist attacks of an unprecedented scale are taking place in the Paris region,”[...]

- François Hollande

President of the French Republic

site

Champ de Mars is situated in the Seventh Arrondissement, adjacent to the Eiffel Tower. Named after the Roman God of War, Campus Martius, the park was dedicated to community agriculture until it had transformed into stomping grounds for the French Military School. Now, with versatile uses ranging from social gatherings, events and concerts, and tourism, Champ de Mars has been a vital component to French culture and heritage such as the celebration of the storming of Bastille on July 17, 1789 — today known as Bastille Day.

concept

Terrorism has undoubtedly had its grasp on society, echoing fear and malevolent mannerisms through history leaving families and individuals feeling defeated, indignant and unaccounted for. The potential lies beneath the direct emotions we endure -- a potential that must be broken to be reached. With each event, terrorism breaks and fractures society in countless measures and it is not until these fractures become exposed that we can make any sort of progression.

Although each scale of terrorism has it's own unique magnitude, one thing is consistent in every instance — there are three individual stages humanity encounters against terrorism. Within these stages, society fluctuates their emotions in order to make sense of the event. This begins with Awareness, the ability for us to become educated in past historical terroristic events and to see what motions had taken place during the catastrophes.

Following Awareness, the secondary stage is Suffering, a self-explanatory documentation of perversity among social structures. This stage breaks down the core of these actions, exploiting the failures of people to act peaceful because they would rather go the route of belligerence because of political unrest. As the chasm between governmental authority and society become grander and grander, people have been left with no other opportunity but to demonstrate their frustrations in the most extreme radical actions.

Finally, the tertiary stage, Progression, shows that society does not have to feel that coercive actions are the answers to political injustice. This final stage demonstrates the flowers that bloom between the brittle cracks caused by terrorism, the ability for people to unite, and the proof that social indifference does not have to be shown by means of violence and disorder.

site division

Division of the site correlates between the existing circulation within the park and the three phases derived from the initial concept. The approach was to exploit the existing site, deconstruct its issues, then reconstruct it once more with the influence of the concept incorporated within it.

stages

Expanding on the initial concept leads to three stages that society as a whole encounters upon confrontation with terror. These three stages begin with the awareness of social tragedies, followed by mourning and emotional suffering, and finally progressing forward as one entity unified to seek peace in the future no matter the differences we have as people.

STAGE 1 // AWARENESS

The first stage of the Peace Pavilion acts as an introduction to the past and current events of terror that have echoed throughout the world. It is meant to bring awareness to the visitors of events that may have not received the same recognition and acknowledgement as others and as well show the tragedies that have changed social interaction since their attack. Although the focus of the pavilion is catered to the attacks against Paris on the 15th of November, 2015, it is crucial that it introduces the timeline of terrorism, scaling small to large, to visitors that are not properly covered and distributed by media. These attacks have affected families, neighborhoods, towns, cities, countries and continents undulating through eras, societies, and cultures in immeasurable ways.

STAGE 2 // SUFFERING

The second stage of the Peace Pavilion exploits the moments in which the acts of terror have happened through several mediums. Film, photographs, recordings, writings, articles and now social media reactions are the focal point of the second stage. This stage shows how people as a whole and as individuals cope and mourn during these extreme hardships. It is vital that this stage emphasizes the tragedies for the visitor, in vivid forms it should spark the understanding of what humanity is capable of as a focus on our responsibility to communicate peacefully over harm.

STAGE 3 // PROGRESSION

The third and final stage of the Peace Pavilion brings to light the aftermath of terrorism and how humanity begins to progress forward in life, coming together as an entity that extends further beyond the borders in which the attacks took place. This final stage is the introduction to a new beginning for those directly and indirectly harmed. Progression is the evolution one has to become better, and in our case, a better society than where we were before the attacks. It is an extrusion from history with the notion that terrorism is not the solution to differences but rather the action of hate by means of violence for political reasoning. The direction of the third stage must make an attempt to relieve the pressure and tensions we have mistakenly made by forms of the art, writings, and literature created because of the second stage. As people look for means of positive expression, the final stage showcases them to show that we can make progress without brutality.

contextual analysis

ARRONDISSEMENT

METRO STATIONS

process

PROGRAM PLAN

1// Entry Hall
2// Information Kiosk
3// Gift Shop
4// Administration
5// Café
6// Exhibition Stage
7// Photograph & News Room
8// Movie Room
9// Gallery
10// Progression Lawn
11// Artist Studio
12// Reflection Room
13// Performance Shell