Frédéric Borel Architecte   Paris

This event presents the work of Frédéric Borel as the superposition or intersection of three distinct planes : the symbolic, the imaginary, and the real. The symbolic plane concerns what, beyond the mere response to a program, points to something else — that elsewhere which distinguishes architecture from mere construction. The imaginary questions the triggers of the design process, showing how desires for form crystallize to respond precisely to a social demand and a site. Finally, the real explains, in a didactic manner, how the architect relies — without ever opposing them — on constraints (urban regulations, construction safety, cost, the construction methods used by French firms…) in order to better bend them and carry his first intuitions through.

The exhibition takes the form of a tripartite space, saturated with original works superimposed or assembled together (sketches, models, paintings, sculptures…), in the manner of Schwitters” Merzbau.

The exhibition, organized by ESA production (Marc Vaye), was also presented at the École Spéciale d’Architecture from March 2 to 26, 2006.

(Original text of 2006, machine translated in 2026.)