C 02 79
«It is a common
error to think that
architecture is different
from landscape, when
they are actually the
same thing»
of necessity. Everyone used to say “Paris
et la banlieu,” and now it is only Paris, or
Grand Paris. It is a project that will expose
the problems of identity, of exclusion… it is
a visionary plan.
PM: A new Baron Haussmann...
DP: No, we are an army of small Baron
Haussmanns. Now we have to see how far
these frontiers can stretch, or see if they are
necessary at all, because we cannot let the
Grand Paris become another closed circuit.
In any case, sharing is valid for both city and
country. In a large building you go in and out,
work, think, rest, cook… That is the concept
of multiple function, as in traditional ar-
chitecture where the grandparents, children
and animals were all in one same building.
PM: That’s right, but animals can’t be
just anywhere. On our way here we saw lots
of horses in the fields. In this area there is
a strict relationship between landscape and
animals. I can’t imagine the landscape with-
out them. This is why over these six years
I have never doubted that this was a space
for horses. This landscape is both natural
and human.
DP: It is a constructed nature, an artifi-
cial nature. And we must face a completely
contemporary problem: should we or should
we not build in natural environments? Ar-
chitecture is a natural construction and one
can think that the walls are trees, the sun
is the land, the slabs are the sky.
PM: It is a common error to think that ar-
chitecture is different from landscape, when
they are actually the same thing. The regula-
tions on building in the landscape are often
mistaken because their point of departure
is not right.
DP: The landscape harbors nature and
architecture, not nature or architecture.
PM: The subject of the horses is somewhat
similar to that of architecture. We buy the
horses when they are two years old and, dur-
ing eight years they are trained for competi-
tion. It is as if you were working on a project:
you start out with the idea, you define the
project, build it, encounter economic and
political difficulties… There is a high chance
that a project can fail, and the same thing
goes for horses. It takes eight years to prepare
the movements, the rhythms, the music… you
never know if it will be a good investment.
Architectural projects, like horses, also be-
come ill.
DP: We are also working on a competition
for a racetrack (New Longchamp Racecourse
in Paris): the horses are completely different.
It is a big project, and we wanted to make
the architect’s intervention on the surface
disappear. As in this place, our basic goal
was to open up to the landscape and bring
it into the building, a garden rather than a
stadium. It is a very horizontal project, like a
shelf where people walk, drink, rest… It has
two layers: one professional and one public.
The ground level is for animals and, on top,
footbridges link the different services. You
walk above the horses, but always close to
them, which is what’s important really.
