2005–2010

Parc de la Villette, Paris

2010

The WIP Villette

Formerly the Veterinarians’ Rotunda during the days of the slaughterhouses and later an artists’ residence, the Maison de la Villette has been known since February 2010 as “WIP Villette” (Work in Progress), a permanent venue dedicated to new frontiers in art. Located off the beaten path in the northern part of the park, this building needed to be made more visually accessible. The project involved altering the perception of the architecture by transforming the building into a contemporary graphic element. The design expresses a flow of air that originates at the rear of the building and moves toward the entrance, while taking its volumetry into account. Red lines thus cover the entire building and schematize the dynamic wind currents on the facade—a strong graphic representation that identifies the building, suggests its content, and guides visitors toward the entrance. The entrance is highlighted and flanked by a red facade featuring information displays. The responsive nature of this space dedicated to new cultures is thus reflected in this “moving” building. Design
team — Ruedi Baur, Eva Kubinyi, David Thoumazeau

2010

Information Madness

As part of the renovation of the “Folie information” at the park’s main entrance, signage improvements were implemented in two areas: identifying the structure with illuminated box letters, enhancing the visibility of the entrances with light showers, and installing a display system for temporary information. The latter, both inside and outside the building, consists of playfully stacking different formats of posters or digital screens on poles. Design
team — Ruedi Baur, Eva Kubinyi, David Thoumazeau

2005

Parc de la Villette, event signage

Signage for the construction site, intended to mark the two-year renovation of the Grande Halle, has been installed at the main entrance to Parc de la Villette, on Place de la Fontaine aux Lions. Complementing the monumental signage—composed of giant letters made of raw wood planks, two meters high and thirty meters long, rising from a massive fence—a second, more event-oriented installation will remain in place for the duration of the summer program at La Villette. Leading to the park’s entrance during construction, a path marked by temporary towers made from wooden pallets serves as temporary signage. The red of the giant wooden letters is echoed in the background on the “banner posters” promoting the various summer events. To emphasize the installation’s ephemeral nature, a trailer positioned in front of a five-meter-high, seven-meter-wide wall of pallets serves as the site’s reception and information point. A series of “custom-built” commissions created with a spirit of immediacy and responsiveness within a limited budget. Design
team — Ruedi Baur, Stephanie Brabant, Denis Coueignoux, Eva Kubinyi

2005

Administrative district

As part of a modest renovation of a series of prefabricated buildings, the administration of this public institution sought to install a new signage system. The project involves revealing the layered history of the site: the previous lettering has not been removed. The proposal is limited to adding painted letters over the existing ones and installing three-dimensional resin letters whose form is intended to express the sense of the temporary inherent in this place—a temporariness that seems to persist beyond initial expectations. Design
team — Ruedi Baur, Jean-Paul Augry, Stéphanie Brabant, Chantal Grossen