Paris, janvier 2017 The ministry had left the wealthy building of a square full of jewelers for these Parisian margins close to the periphérique. Thus, instead of rooms that seemed to be part of bourgeois apartments, there was a room […]
Paris, may 2013. What is it about? The full restoration of a store and its main window, facing the sidewalk. What the paper is meant to do? Clearly, it’s about “paint”. But we can’t see it. The whole window is […]
It’s been years, now, that we are supposed to live in a paperless world. Since the seventies, and the emergence of affordable and easy-to-use computers, the disappearance of notebooks, single sheets or post-it has been announced again and again. Yet, […]
Paris, November 2016 Urban spaces are paradoxically those of Nature. This Nature is certainly tamed, framed, but nevertheless present, protected and patrimonialised. Thus, until recently, only city authorities were able to plant trees and flower beds and, according to the […]
Paris, november 2016. At the time of internet and collaborative platforms, the sharing of information is multiplied. A large number of persons, distributed all over the world, may circulate an idea, deliver an opinion, or pass a judgment in a […]
Instructions for use are precious documents for who wants to do semiotics. As Madeleine Akrich taught us years ago, they are one of the sites where the crowd the objects are made of is described. Reading them, looking at their […]
Paris, November 2016 The place was cozy with its wooden tables, mismatched chairs and leather armchairs, as we noticed the big homemade everyday cakes on a big corner table. Everything seemed perfect for a work appointment. And then we saw […]
Bayonne, july 2016. Entering the room, you face a huge, multicolored wall, made of numerous components directly screwed on it. A simple glance and you understand how much colors are crucial in the world of climbing. Mostly white, the paint […]
The place was quiet that morning. Even quieter than the rest of the city. You would just hear the birds and the hard wind in the trees. Here and there, benches seemed to wait for visitors, facing the lake, like […]
Barcelona, août 2016 La conférence avait lieu dans le centre des congrès, bâtiment visant la pure fonctionnalité. Salles numérotées, vidéoprojecteurs et écrans à l’intérieur, couloirs avec leurs tables garnies pour les pauses, tout semblait parfait pour accueillir les 1500 collègues […]
Paris, october 2016. In any way-finding system, arrows are key. Whether in the streets, a subway system, an airport, a park or a building, an arrow plays a crucial part in pointing to a specific site, while adding as a […]
The things you can do with writings are quite impressive. And they show how wrong were those who tried to analyze written words as mere representations of speech. Inverted commas are a good exemple of that. Theses little marks can […]
Pontivy, July 2016 The station is long closed, its windows are blocked; behind the building, the now useless tracks are subjected to rust and to the invasion of weeds. Due to the lack of maintenance, the lobby ceiling has collapsed, […]
London, august 2016. Urban settings are made of flows. Pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles, wheelchairs, cars, strollers, buses, tramways circulate the streets simultaneously, and many devices are designed to perform fluidity and to regulate their peaceful coexistence. The introduction of each new […]
Trying to convince people to adopt responsible practices is not an easy thing, especially when it comes to ecology. Certainly, the difficulty to render the consequences of our actions tangible has a lot to do with it. Even if we […]
Brussels, July 2016 The area was deserted on this summer Sunday, the usual officials and lobbyists being absent at the entrance of the office buildings. At the heart of Europe with its four lanes, “Law street” was covered by only […]
Hossegor, july 2016. It is commonplace: in many workplaces, the flexibility of work schedules has gradually transformed the working conditions. In this manner, the work force can be adjusted to the changing rhythm of the market on almost a daily […]
Early in the morning on this week day, there were only a few dogs in the park. And unless you were paying close attention, you couldn’t tell what kind of dogs they were. It’s only when I saw the sign […]
Brussels, August 2016. Around the buildings, as it is common in this type of campus, you have to cross parking lots protected by barriers. Lost tourists or nearby supermarket consumers shall be prevented to seize this area dedicated to duly […]
Paris, June 2016 The classroom was empty, no tables or chairs left. They had been transported in a gym, to be used there for baccalaureate candidates. But in a corner near the entrance, a trace of exam preparation has been […]
As Franck Cochoy remarkably showed, the invention of packaging took a crucial part in the shaping of modern markets. Before it appeared, customers could only made choices between two different goods: rice and pasta for instance. But rice was present […]
Paris, March 2016 On a single-color background stand out letters, numbers and mathematical symbols. All along the dock convoluted formulas are displayed. Modern hieroglyphics that we can not literally read, much less understand, they fix the gaze of rushed travelers […]
It’s easy to understand what signposts do to space. They help to transform it into places. Signs perform territories, jurisdictions, ie delimited portions of land that are not only named, but also organized, even politicized. Once you pass a sign, […]
Toulouse, july 2014. In the car, on our way to a printing house. He: “I’m sorry for taking a detour, but I really have to get these stickers today”. Me: No problem… Instead, a printing house is a potentially interesting […]
Bordeaux, March 2016. The train was quite ordinary, its gray dress on the ten cars reflecting sunlight. Yet, this train is not like the others: on the locomotive, a faded sticker draws the eye of the traveler. It was 25 […]
There is something strange about this lunch. Adults have fun, but we barely see the children. Juts before desert, they ask for the permission to leave and disappear. What’s really awkward is we don’t hear them. No big laughs, no […]
Paris, november 2015. Everyone has been sat down into the meeting room for hours, during several consecutive days. Discussions have been rather polite and quiet, other have been more animated, even harsh. The various opinions have been expressed, shared and […]
Valencia, March 2016 Almost ten years, the pool was full of boats and onlookers, and the images of the regattas were transmitted worldwide. Today, under the sun, the marina accommodates only a few walkers and occasional sailers. Yet buildings are […]
This is the first thing you do after arriving at the AirBnB studio: a walk in the neighborhood. What a beautiful place. Trees and flowers everywhere. Blue sky. Colorful houses, nice frontyards. You take pictures that you know will look […]
Paris, February 2016 The ministry is still a great fortress extending over a block, even if its new entrance made of glass symbolized its openness to all citizens. After passing the security checks worthy of an airport, we arrived at […]
Paris, september 2010. A few words on a sheet of paper enclosed in a transparent plastic pocket containing a key, the whole thing firmly attached to a piece of string. That’s it! Everyone would receives this surprising assemblage as a […]
“Nobody walks in LA”, we all know that. Before going there, I used to think it was a matter of distance. That the point was actually nobody walks 10 miles to go to work. No one considers a two-hours tour […]