Images of the Southern French countryside conjure up images of green, rolling hills and picturesque little villages, bathed in the Mediterranean light; and sure enough, the landscape around Marseille fits the bill. Yet, hidden amongst the leafy nature, are the industrial remnants of an abandoned lead mine, its old stone columns and arches peeking through the trees. This site, known as the Friche de l’Escalette, was bought by art collector and dealer Éric Touchaleaume, who transformed it into a sculpture park in 2016 to display his collection and temporary shows.
Touchaleaume cleverly uses the site’s dramatic existing historical architecture to juxtapose, through carefully curated shows, old and new – combining his passion for modern and contemporary art and modernist architecture, and the soft nature of the land; which provided the perfect architectural setting for our ‘Cast away’ fashion story that appears in Wallpaper’s December 2018 (W* 237) issue.
Touchaleaume likes to juxtapose modern art with nature and the site's historical architecture at the Friche. Archives Galerie 54, Paris
Temporary shows appear every summer and this past one included the resurrection of two rare Jean Prouvé cabins. One was the Pavillion de Lorraine 6x9, which was a ‘model home commissioned just after the Liberation of France by Raoul Dautry, minister for reconstruction, to house families in the Lorraine region whose dwellings had been destroyed by bombing’.
The other was the, perhaps, more well known Cameroun Bungalow, which Prouvé conceived as a ‘tropical habitat for a wet zone’, in metal frame and aluminium facades. The structures will remain on site until summer 2019. Along with the architecture, the park showcases a range of modern art, including pieces by Gerard Lardeur, Parvine Curie and Shamai Haber.
On shoot at Friche de l’Escalette for Wallpaper* December 2018 issue (W* 237). Dress, price on request, by Dušan. Tropical bungalow, 1958-64, by Jean Prouvé & Atelier LWD. Fashion: Isabelle Kountoure
The site has slowly become a staple in the architecture aficionado’s frequent pilgrimages to South France, for its rare combination of the natural and the industrial, the modern and historical. And there will be plenty more to see soon at this cultural venue.
Alongside ongoing works for the preservation of the local architecture and flora, the owners are already working on a new exhibition, slated to debut in the summer, featuring more work by Prouvé, as well as a highly anticipated competition on the theme of the cabanon (the local fishermen's cabins), aiming to celebrate and protect this particular regional typology.
Old meets new in a large scale, outdoors exhibition area.
Touchaleaume likes to juxtapose modern art with nature and the site's historical architecture at the Friche.
One of the latest shows at the Friche de l'Escalette was the summer display of two Jean Prouve cabins; the location where we shot our main December 2018 issue fashion story
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Friche de l’Escalette website
-
Hyundai is the latest car company to get into robotics: meet the Mobile Eccentric DroidThe MobED is a new product from Hyundai’s Robotics LAB, pitched at last-mile delivery and industrial applications
-
A cubist house rises in Mexico City, its concrete volumes providing a bold urban refugeCasa Ailes, a cubist house by Jaime Guzmán Creative Group, is rich in architectural expression that mimics the dramatic and inviting nature of a museum
-
David/Nicolas raise contemporary craft to a canter at this new Abu Dhabi riding schoolThe Lebanese design duo draw on Emirati equestrian heritage to create two contemporary spaces for ADREA, a new school of classical horsemanship
-
Could this 3D-printed dwelling solve Luxembourg’s housing crisis?With Tiny House Lux, ODA Architects showcases a functional, low-cost and sustainable home that serves as an important case study for the potential benefits of 3D-printed construction
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
This modernist home, designed by a disciple of Le Corbusier, is on the marketAndré Wogenscky was a long-time collaborator and chief assistant of Le Corbusier; he built this home, a case study for post-war modernism, in 1957
-
Louis Kahn, the modernist architect and the man behind the mythWe chart the life and work of Louis Kahn, one of the 20th century’s most prominent modernists and a revered professional; yet his personal life meant he was also an architectural enigma
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom Malibu beach pads to cosy cabins blanketed in snow, Wallpaper* has featured some incredible homes this month. We profile our favourites below
-
‘You have to be courageous and experimental’: inside Fondation Cartier’s new homeFondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris invites us into its new home, a movable feast expertly designed by Jean Nouvel
-
A wellness retreat in south-west France blends rural charm with contemporary concreteBindloss Dawes has completed the Amassa Retreat in Gascony, restoring and upgrading an ancient barn with sensitive modern updates to create a serene yoga studio
-
Three lesser-known Danish modernist houses track the country’s 20th-century architectureWe visit three Danish modernist houses with writer, curator and architecture historian Adam Štěch, a delve into lower-profile examples of the country’s rich 20th-century legacy
