SEOUL DESIGN AWARD

Group: Collectif Etc
City:  Saint Laurent en Royans, France 
Representative Designer: Maxence Bohn
Nationality: France

 

 

Honorable Mention

 

 

Place des Possibles

 

 

"A participatory building project that progressively renovated an old local factory with community members"

 

 

 

Place des Possibles is a participatory architecture project that transformed a shabby textile factory in a small town

into a cultural space in collaboration with local residents and experts.

 

 

 

This project was carried out with a low budget based on a gradual and cooperative design in which local people participated in the entire process,

rather than a method that completes all at once at a large cost. Local residents participated in several meetings, discussions, and on-site workshops

during the project period, sharing the entire process from design drawings to construction. Additionally, during the construction process,

renewable resources and building materials recovered from the existing site were utilized to the fullest extent.

 

 

 

Place des Possibles was conducted as part of the 'School of Commons', which connects students from local architecture schools,

local space improvement projects, and activist groups of architects. 'Collectif', which created 'School of Commons' with 8 European partners,

is a non-profit organization based in Marseille, France. Since their founding in 2011, focusing on the urban commons problems,

they have developed techniques and tools to support new approaches to architecture and applied them to their projects.

Using comprehensive creative tools such as art, photography, video and sound recording, they cover topics ranging from global architectural project

strategy to furniture design using recycled materials. In addition, intensive workshops have diversified channels for communication

by holding frequent lunch meetings, discussions, and lectures by inviting experts from various fields. Through this,

it played a role in lowering the entry barrier for the general public as well as those who could be alienated from the digital divide. 

 

 

Over the past decade, a number of experimental and institutionalized commons have emerged

in Europe as 'Place des Possibles.‘

Based on the synergy between all participants, the new way of collective building offers innovative solutions to architecture,

cities and regions.