Amor Immeuble: Pièces déposées

Barely visible, buried beneath the trinkets, the fireplace is a recurring subject in the series of interiors captured by Eugène Atget at the turn of the 20th century. The mantelpiece is the magnified embodiment of the comfort made possible by the mechanical flues of the Haussmann building, and the necessary delimitation of the hearth, the fireplace: the intimacy of the apartment. While heating systems have evolved to render fireplaces obsolete, they often remain the guarantors of the Haussmann style—and therefore of the property’s market value. Still in keeping with this market, it’s not uncommon for fireplaces and their flues to be removed to “reclaim” a few square meters of floor space. These frequent transformations feed a flourishing second-hand market, reflecting the recurrence of models and dimensions of these ready-to-install elements. Nineteenth-century marble-makers flooded France with these kit dressings by the wagonload, standardizing catalogs with a limited series of model-types, utilitarian syntheses of historical styles—including the “Capucine à modillions”. The ambivalent status of these standardized ornaments—architectural archetype or decorative product, indispensable figure in the domestic landscape or cumbersome antique—is inevitably debated during interior renovation projects. What position should we, as architects, adopt in such situations? What is the value of this ornamented interface, ultimately stripped of all function when the ducts are condemned? What place should be given to the many pieces that have been deposited? Among these sheet-rock facings, consoles and modillions stand out, more elaborate and massive in their function as projecting supports. The generic nature of the fragments collected enables us to turn them into three-dimensional assemblies that temporarily occupy the domestic space of the gallery: the rock, reduced to an ornamental motif, is used here for its structural capacity, and the contoured form becomes a framework component, abstracted from its original orientation and symbolism.

Amor Immeuble was born from the meeting of four architects interested in a wide field of work such as material research, situated experimentation, scenography and construction. Since 2020 Amor Immeuble has been exploring the potential of building elements uncovered across a variety of territories. From May to July 2022, a residency at CIAP Vassivière allowed the group to explore the constructive history of Aldo Rossi and Xavier Fabre’s building. In October 2022, at DRAC Franche-Comté’s invitation, work was carried out on a former gravel pit. In April 2023, for Milan Design Week, Amor Immeuble was invited by (ab)Normal to present a research project on Hainaut bluestone at the Europelago group exhibition. In December 2023, its research project on city flooring, “Pavés dormants,” with designer Anna Saint Pierre, won the Faire Paris open call proposed by Pavillon de l’Arsenal.

DNL Gallery is a new gallery based in Paris, opening in March 2024. It positions itself as an exhibition, exploration, and prospecting space dedicated to architecture in all its components. The gallery aims to highlight the close links between the visual arts, media, contemporary culture, and architecture, promoting their encounter and presenting their interactions. This is neither a confrontation between disciplines nor an eclectic selection but a synthesis, a perspective that raises many questions. How do we select the pieces to be exhibited? Should the creative process be broken down? And what about references? Above all, how can architecture be collected? To achieve its mission of encouraging these questions and fostering a better understanding of the built environment, the gallery will produce original works solicited from a new generation of architects, as well as selecting older works. While the most contemporary initiatives are exhibited, heritage and the history of architecture are by no means neglected. The gallery is located in an apartment in the ninth arrondissement of Paris, offering an unusual setting for presenting architecture. It is now transformed into exhibition spaces to share architecture, its details, fragments, and concepts with a specialized public, while seeking to reach as wide an audience as possible.