"PLAN ON THE OTHER SIDE" ENGLISH DIALOGUE LIST DOC-FICTION VIDEO LENGTH: 80 MINUTES DIRECTED BY PATRICIA NYDEGGER RUE DE BERNE 22 1201 GENEVA SWITZERLAND PHONE AND FAX NUMBER: +41-22-738 72 41 E-MAIL : pnydegger@hotmail.ch © PATRICIA NYDEGGER 1998 GAS STATION Title An esav / patricia nydegger production STUDIO Helen No, not at all Peter But that's just what I wanted to say Helen Then, it's a misunderstanding Peter Yes, you didn't quite get it Helen That's again your point of view Peter That's not true, listen, you said Helen All right, drop it! You don't seem conscious of what I'm about... For sure, you made up an image of me Peter Ha! an image... Helen Yes! an image! THEATRE Title PLAN ON THE OTHER SIDE WORKSHOPS Patrick Devanthéry OK? Inès Lamunière Yes, put some X's there, otherwise... Patrick Devanthéry How ? Inès Lamunière As you did there Patrick Devanthéry OK, that's the official one Inès Lamunière Yes, and we'll put the mobile phone later. Then, we have to reprint these two pages Patrick Devanthéry Shall I begin ? Patrick Devanthéry If I introduce myself, I'll do the same for you So, Patrick Devanthéry, Inès Lamunière, architects graduated at Lausanne Peter-André Bohnet Peter-André Bohnet, I studied in Geneva Steeve Ray Me, my name is Steeve Ray, I did the same as Peter-André, which means draughtsman studies and then the TECH in the evening Patrick Magnin My name is Patrick Magnin, I'm 47 years old, I'm an architect Diana Stiles My name is Diana Stiles, I'm from New Zealand and I studied architecture there Ugo Brunoni OK, I'm Brunoni, Ugo, architect, born in Tessin André Haarscheidt Well, there are 6 of us working in this studio. All with the same education. Michel Pedrolini I don't know, my name is Michel Pedrolini and I'm an architect Gilles Bellmann Yes, Bellmann speaking... yes hello PARK Peter, young Well, at 5, I painted aliens, at 7-8, I painted cowboys and Indians, at 9-10, birds, and then I don't remember WORKSHOPS Patrick Magnin The architect, I'd say first, trivially, has to fulfil the needs of a client, who pays him... but saying that doesn't mean saying the essential thing PRESS CONFERENCE Speaker Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this press conference. As you noticed, many projects of quality have been presented to this competition for the restructuring of downtown WORKSHOPS Patrick Magnin : Essentially, the architect acts in a public field and he has to be perfectly aware of his responsibilities towards the society Inès Lamunière Let's say, we work in a kind of associative way which means that, at the beginning, everything interest us in a program, even very different levels, as you said... For example, thinking of a door handle, OK, maybe not exactly that, but... Patrick Magnin We have a program, a setting, we have laws and people to consult Inès Lamunière And at the same time, we think about a particular function as well as the use of a material Patrick Magnin And then we have to reconcile all this and find out the solution which is going to answer to all external constraints and also satisfy our personal expectation PRESS CONFERENCE Speaker After a long reflection, the jury decided to give the first prize to Peter Laurel's innovative project The floor is his Peter Laurel Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière Well, we're not only intellectual, that's why I love this profession, there are so many complex networks... that's true : we produce a building, a building is a product, but it issued out of something which at the beginning wasn't conceived as it. PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel I believe that all of you read the document presenting in detail the urban conception I'm going to talk about THEATRE Helen In Columbus, Ohio, there was a small restaurant that served meals that would have been my pride if they had come to our table from our kitchen. The cooks were women and the owner was a woman and it was managed by women. The cooking was beyond compare and also succulent and savoury... Yeah, I made a mistake In Columbus, Ohio, there was a small restaurant that served meals that would have been my pride if they had come to our table from our kitchen. The cooks were women and the owner was a woman and it was managed by women. The cooking was beyond compare, neither fluffy nor emasculated, as women's cooking can be, but succulent and savoury. WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière And then we like to work out variations, it's like trees, indeed, like Saussure said. We have all theses associations, some of content, some of form, and we start to say : what if we take this configuration, this element... Patrick Devanthéry yeah, the logic of relationship Inès Lamunière of this one, of that one Gilles Bellmann Yeah, all the various factors lead to choose a technical solution, that's clear Patrick Magnin And then, the object is born out of all this. It's a bit like a child... you don't know what will finally come out, and discover the thing when it's there THEATRE Helen standing When we arrived, we had a carefully prepared lunch and for dessert we had an old-fashioned Bird's-nest pudding Helen, sitting Bird's-nest pudding Helen, standing Butter a porcelain pudding dish, slice 8 apples into it Helen, sitting Slice 8 apples into it, sprinkle with sugar. Pour over them a batter made of 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup flour. Anne all right, now more sober! and sit down, please Helen Mix well, add the yolks of 3 eggs and 1 cup milk Helen, sitting And 1 cup milk in which has been mixed 1 scant teaspoon baking soda. Beat the whites of 3 eggs, fold into mixture Helen Can I move a bit ? Anne Yeah Helen Bake for half hour in medium oven. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle... Anne Stop ! Helen Serve with sweetened heavy cream. This is a pudding we should not neglect. Helen laughs Anne Don't you like pudding ? Helen No, I don't know, it's....wait WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni Er, the city ? Off voice (film Director) Or cities Inès Lamunière Let's say, we're really urbanites Ugo Brunoni City is a ensemble, a ensemble of activities, more or less chaotic Steeve Ray I have a policy: I love to live in the city and I think we all like that and, for us, Geneva is too small, I feel good in a city like Paris and I don't like to leave it. If I want to see some green, I go to a park PARK Peter, young A ladybird....got it ? the girl who's shooting Pooh, yeah Peter, young Got it ? the girl who's shooting Yes! Peter, young Well then... CAR Peter Laurel, off As you know, the program is about the construction of a multifunctional complex downtown PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel With my collaborators' help, I tried to answer to it with temporary and modular elements, which functions are interchangeable, with the idea to not predetermine an authoritative and so-called organised whole. WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni The most beautiful city I've seen up to now is Brasilia, which had theses wide spaces, these empty spaces. You'll say that the sun helps a lot, but it had these big dimensions. Off course, it isn't a medieval dimension, but the opposite. In the middle ages, we had density, if you want, of solidity THEATRE Helen The snow was steadily falling outside. Our hostess was in the tradition of a Dumas fils heroine, though she was, I believe, the original of Carl Van Vechten's Tattooed Countess. It is unnecessary to say that the menu was entirely a French one, and therefore a recipe of one of its courses has no place here. The temptation however is too great. This is the way to prepare Lobster Archduke. PARK Peter, young But , I wanted to talk about something else, well, about what, actually ? WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni : So, the medieval city and the modern one. It's up to you to decide if you stand for the big towers, etc.. Personally I prefer big towers and spaces PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel Practically, it means structures which can be dismantled, thrown away and recycled, but above all not prefabricated and conceived for the needs and the conditions of the place. WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni I want to make both, I mean high density - I always get bawled out from my colleagues - high density and high build. I stand for New-York PARK Peter, young Well, we are in this park because I want to say... well, this park, half nature, half designed by society, is a product of this society and people can come here and sit down, you can take a chair like this and sit down anywhere PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel You could of course tell me that it actually is the job of the architect to propose fix structures, ready to be consumed. But, nowadays, it's often architecture which intends to consume the user et no more the contrary WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière Well, I'd say, this is were our generation has been maybe the most... the least explicit on this point... let say, personally, I don't have many ideas We have been concentrated ourselves on the case per case, we are sure that the city can't be done through big projects anymore Steeve Ray Yes, we are in a crisis and nobody sees the end of it Inès Lamunière And now we feel that we should start the debate again, let say, in a more general way PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel More over, we don't speak enough about the fact that it is politics and above all the economy that governs the build environment and, through the architectural form, pushes the user to adhere to... PARK Peter, young Me, for example, I wonder if we can create products, which are inevitably influenced by society, and if, in the same time, these products are able to criticise this society PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel Thus, architecture becomes an ideological tool predetermine through its own form its role and therefore its use WORKSHOPS Patrick Devanthéry About the city, we have a certainty : that the city is good Inès Lamunière Yeah, that's what I'd say Patrick Devanthéry I mean it's better to do the city than to do the countryside PARK Peter, young To me it seems necessary to criticise society, and... WORKSHOPS Patrick Devanthéry Maybe, if you say that our generation didn't think enough about city, that's because the big masterplans were over Steeve Ray So it's very difficult... before, we had a vision, we could make projects for the city, there was an economic impulse, it was growing ... now, there is something which is eroding, and it's becoming very difficult to plan Gilles Bellmann OK. The fact that we began to plan cities with all aspects of urbanism at the beginning of the century or even in the fifties-sixties, after the war, this fact has totally destructured the cities André Haarscheidt The idea we had, that things can be perfectly planned, probably appeared with the industrialisation Gilles Bellmann Let's say, one thought by organising functions of the city, we would manage the living space better, but this is not the case... Inès Lamunière On the other hand, we're thinking about this question now - is it really true ? - because planning had also some good aspects PARK Peter, young And I mean, now in the 70ies the thought of rethinking society, as well as bourgeois elements, has grown, not only on the social level but also in the arts WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière But what did we say ? We said let's begin with a few things, the city can be done in a fragmentary way, not only with plans over dozens of years showing that the city is ultimately a ruin, there are always main roads leading nowhere Steeve Ray So I tell myself, that the only element that could change the city is that people regain consciousness of what a city is, of its dimensions PETER'S STUDIO - flashback Helen You don't seem conscious of what I'm about. For sure, you made up an image of me PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel I come back to the place, this place which is nothing else than a piece of city, fluctuating and transitory, a place we still too often nostalgically call "downtown" ON THE PHONE Peter Hello Inès, it's Peter Inès Hi, how are you doing? Peter Fine, thanks, but I'm just stuck in traffic, you know I'm going to this meeting Inès Yeah Peter And yesterday there was this press conference, so I just wanted to hear your opinion about theses... Inès Listen, your position will be a bit difficult.. we all thought your ideas were great but now you have to pass them by the authorities, all the different clients WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray Architectural projects really take a long time, you don't imagine that at the beginning. When the government or the city do something, it systematically falls into political quarrels Peter But don't you think it was a risk to take ? Inès Listen, in the actual context, I think, this idea will start a path. But it will take some more time if Botta had won Peter OK, time, but how did the jury react on the planning of the space I proposed ? Inès I think what smashed is that you were the only one who understood that it's a difficult setting, that it's a whole to be built step by step. So it was very judicious of you to imagine these provisory buildings able to be built independently from each other... And I think this clearly brought the fact that it was not only an architectural vision they were not used to, like the aesthete architect, but also the architect aware of changes in mentality, and even more, aware of the fact that the way of working and living together is going to change WORKSHOPS Diana Stiles And I think, for the future it'll be interesting to - not that this is new, because we already have developed these lines of mixed cities - to mix living space with work and leisure, all together Inès Lamunière You said rationalism, but I also believe in term of functionalism, maybe not in its old accepted ways, but... Patrick Devanthéry Yeah, OK, no Inès Lamunière I believe that today, function should be lived in ON THE PHONE Inès Of course, when they saw that there are no places, some colleagues said : yeah, there are no places, no roads, only empty and lifeless spaces, I'm sure the critics will be there, like, you see, where's the collective space.. Peter Yeah, exactly Inès You've heard it before ? Peter Yes, several time Inès OK, then, if they let you develop it a bit during the meeting, you should tell them that it's the form which is going to determine the way of moving and meeting, in the exterior space Peter Yes, but it's WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray I think it's more by taking a look at the place where we intervene, by listening, looking who is living there, how it works Gilles Bellmann Yeah, keeping an eye or an ear on how the tenants perceive their housing Steeve Ray Thus we develop a project that fits in with the life of the place, I think it's very important, and it gives the project its own form ON THE PHONE Peter Yes Inès And it's the relationship between the full and the empty spaces, simply said, that'll define certain types of exterior activities as well as the interior ones WORKSHOPS Diana Stiles We begin to look at the empty spaces like emptiness instead of built Children's voice, off Right ON THE PHONE Inès And this is actually what was difficult for them to understand : the poetics of emptiness Peter OK, I don't see it as a poetic but as a practice of space, embodying in itself future modifications Inès Yeah, it's the great aspect... but now you have to work out these structures in practice to be economic or even, as you said, dismantled when they become useless WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni I agree with that. it's painful, lately they destroyed a little bank I had built they destroyed it, it was painful but I thought : OK, I've the plans, I'm documented enough ON THE PHONE Inès This was a discussion... they're very afraid, in this kind of setting, that it'll stay in ruin, I mean, as an unfinished project Peter Anyway, that's city : a permanent building site, above all, economically. The question is how can we make this fact clear on the aesthetic level ? Inès Yeah, we talked a lot about the permanent building site and also about how you deal with the stages... but imagine the city like that... for them the city is build to last Inès Well, listen, I think there are some opportunities, but you see, honestly, this project will take an infinite time Peter By the way, going through the city also takes an infinite time Inès Yeah, OK, I hang up, I feel that you are... but please take your time, don't speak on the phone anymore, so you'll have some rest, bye Peter Bye THEATRE Anne OK, shall we start again ? Helen The first victim, the first v...., houa Helen The first victim was a lively carp brought by a fish man who told me that he had no time to kill, scale or clean it, nor would he tell me with which of these horrible necessities one began, er.., I chose... no, there is another sentence before it Anne It wasn't... Helen It wasn't difficult to know which was the most repellent WORKSHOPS The film Director Well, to what do you think is this rupture due to? Gilles Bellmann What structure ? The film Director This rupture Bellmann Ah, the rupture, the rupture Inès Lamunière Well, planning suffered a setback..., in the sense of the sixties, seventies, in the seventies Gilles Bellmann OK, there are many factors, we can't simplify, but I'd say that it's essentially due to an uncontrolled extension of the promotion phenomenon, that's it. PARK the girl who's shooting And what are you doing now ? Peter, young Er... I'm thinking the girl who's shooting Then, do you think, I mean, how do you live ? Peter, young Well, I've some little jobs, I do this, I do that and I live in a cheap way THEATRE Helen When we first began reading Dashiel Hammet.... When we first began reading Dashiel Hammet, Gertrude Stein... PETER'S STUDIO : videoletter Peter I find old couples splitting wired, but now I feel myself stuck in this contradiction PRESS CONFERENCE Peter Laurel All right, I speak and I speak... next time I'll try to sing are there any questions ? WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière Well, we're far away from your question about policy Patrick Devanthéry Right, then I thought a bit about policy, it's very elementary but if Snozzi speaks about architecture as a resistance it means that, OK, we don't realise it anymore, but it also means that we fundamentally hold out against the idea that architecture is a mere consumable and selling good Michel Pedrolini And then, there are a lot of people called property developers who are money people, not art people, they are money people to whom only the lowest costs and the highest return matter Ugo Brunoni And the result of this is that it's no more architecture, it's construction Inès Lamunière Yeah Patrick Devanthéry Let's say, the simple fact to say that architecture exists... Inès Lamunière That's what I wanted to say Patrick Devanthéry It means a fundamental opposition against landed speculation, where the only thing that matters is to produce square meters in a perfectly standardised system which is recognised by the user as correct because he learned it's correct for two people to live in 80m2 plus the bathroom, he says : that's good, that's what we can afford ourselves. But if we say architecture, we say something else. There, there is a dimension, which is, on the political level, basically different. PARK Peter, young stone, plastic, wood WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray It's hilarious : on the right, there are some architects who finally only defend their own interests and on the left, where we could hope to find a more interesting architectural discourse, there are no architects at all Patrick Magnin Finally, the architectural production completely sticks to the economical conditions which it depends of Michel Pedrolini And the authorities, what's that ? it reflects the thinking of everyone, everybody Steeve Ray Then, in fact, suddenly, we stay with a kind of left wing which could have many good ideas but which is totally deficient in making decisions, because there are no architects and therefore they don't ask themselves the right questions Diana Stiles OK, there is no architectural education Steeve Ray There is no education Diana Stiles But, can't we talk about architecture please ? PETER'S STUDIO : videoletter Peter there is a misunderstanding... you said that PARK Peter, young Are you shooting ? the girl who's shooting Yes PETER'S STUDIO : videoletter Peter Separation, from the Latin separatio WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray Twenty years ago, there was a very quickly growing economy and when people left school, they practically could open their office and get orders. It's clearly not the way to awake curiosity or .... Inès Lamunière Then, let's not forget that these years were also years of revolt against the fathers, in a certain way Patrick Devanthéry That's right Inès Lamunière Against the materials of modern architecture, in a large sense... I love these words I saw once on a concrete wall : "the concrete is armed (reinforced), so are you ? Patrick Devanthéry It was : you're not Inès Lamunière Are you ? - question mark Steeve Ray Whereas we are in a context which is, phew... we have time to agonise over how to do it and ask ourselves much more questions and I think we begin to... Inès Lamunière It's this very moment, the moment of being focused on a material, in this case the concrete,... the whole hate of speculation and thousands of elements PARK Peter, young Plastic, empty, looks like an ammonite, a fossil, wood, plastic, blue, because we're shooting in black and white, it's blue a mix of nature, vegetal, but it's plastic, plastic WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière If there is an architecture of transparency... Patrick Devanthéry Coming back Inès Lamunière ... coming back, it's also to avoid this question of the concrete, let's be honest PARK the girl who's shooting Yes ? Peter, young Well, this is very similar, but well, it's a flower WORKSHOPS Patrick Devanthéry I mean, if I discuss with the teacher of Grand-Saconnex, who doesn't like the concrete, she finds it horrible, but she still wants to ask, to hear something about it, so she lets me talk for two minutes about it, and, it's true, in two minutes I can begin to say to her "look at the concrete" Ugo Brunoni We have schools, they teach you German, they teach you mathematics, philosophy, French, but they don't teach you how to look Patrick Devanthéry And I think that our political function is to say to people "look !" Ugo Brunoni Well, don't forget that our century has furnished more architecture than by the past centuries, above all in the last fifty years. Thus, we cannot provide quality everywhere, if there was quality everywhere, it'd be too nice. OK, that's not the point, but, I mean, er... PETER'S STUDIO : videoletter Peter 1 : state of being separated or separate; act of separating WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière I think that, unfortunately, it's often the bad examples that'll best express what a society was. well, it's normal, because they precisely are bad, so they'll never reach this untemporal degree Patrick Devanthéry No, but no, that's not true Inès Lamunière Just wait, let me finish Patrick Devanthéry Yeah, OK PETER'S STUDIO : videoletter Peter Splitting of attributions, of competencies. Distinction. The principle of the splitting of powers. 2 : persons Peter Act of splitting, of quitting, after a going or a rupture Peter "Very often, we just realise that we're in love the day we split"- Marcel Proust Peter Old....old....old Peter Old...couple Peter Here is my point of view in four images and a few words, bye ON A MONITOR Helen What !? Peter What "what ?" ! Anne OK! THEATRE Anne Here you are - try it Helen When we first began reading Dashiel Hammet, Gertrude Stein remarked that it was his modern note to have disposed of his victims before the story commenced. And so it is in the kitchen CAR Peter on the phone Hello Madam, I'd like to send a telegram... to Helen Gibel... at the Eupalinos Theatre THEATRE Helen It was at this time, then, that murder in the kitchen began. The first victim was a lively carp brought to the kitchen by a fish man who said he had no time to kill, scale or clean it The phone rings ON THE PHONE Peter Hello ? Patrick Hello, is this Peter ? Peter Ah, Patrick Patrick Yeah, how are you doing ? Peter Hi, I'm OK Patrick Well, that's extraordinary, the thing you've won Peter Well... Patrick Frankly, I couldn't believe it, especially when I saw your proposal I thought that, well, there still are some brave guys in the jury Peter Where you there, at the press conference ? Patrick Listen, yeah, I was there, OK, we didn't see each other but there were so many people PRESS CONFERENCE Patrick, off I just dropped in and I ate some toasts The speaker Patrick Devanthéry and Mr. Froidevaux, respectively renovator and construction engineer of this room, listed as historical monument. Well, all these modifications were extremely delicate... the credit falls natural to the architect who managed, I think we can say it, the work perfectly. So, what we're going to do is, that during the show, we're going to send the film image and while the image turns, we're going to pull up the video screen, vertically fold up the mobile scenes, unfurl the film screen and then when everything has been done we'll arrive at the end of "Indiana Jones" with the music we all know and what'll be the end of our opening ceremony. Could we, in the cabin, send a part of the opera ? The opera ? could we, please ? a technical problem occurs a voice, off Oh, oh! what a good start ! ON THE PHONE Patrick Well, no, it was really great, I was quite glad to see that such a radical proposal has a chance, at least, to be shown, to express itself Peter Yes, that's what makes me wonder too. Just now, I'm on my way to a TV Colloquium, we'll see what it brings, maybe I'll know more about it tonight... Patrick Hey, a TV Colloquium, what a big deal ! Peter No, it's just that nowadays everybody has to deal with the media WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray Media only deals with the elevator problematic if someone gets a limb snatched by an elevator or with architecture if Botta wins a prize anywhere in the world well, there has to be an event Michel Pedrolini Right, what's so deplorable is that architecture criticism is never written by someone of the job... er... film criticism, instead, is usually written by someone who knows film ... OK, maybe I'm wrong ON THE PHONE Patrick Yeah, and OK, you've been fighting long enough for we can be glad about a first recognition Peter Yeah Patrick I hope there'll be some effects. Do you already know something ? Peter Well, it's not built yet WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray The goal of every young architect, finally, is to have, one day, a building authorisation, an execution file and then to begin a realisation and to succeed in it. ON THE PHONE Patrick No, well, built, it'll take some more time I guess but what about the study ? Peter OK, the study, but that's not quite clear, I mean, they're not sure if they want me for the suite Patrick Ah, wow Peter As you say! WORKSHOPS Peter-André Bohnet We won this competition two years ago and since then we've survived with little jobs, little things allowing us to be there until now, and now that we feel we could go farther.... a month ago, if the vote had been negative, we could have forgotten about this project and said good bye ON THE PHONE Patrick Yeah, that means you've got to find some allies Peter Talking of allies, you haven't told me yet what you think about it Patrick OK, OK, I've to get my feet wet, what do I think of your project... Listen, first of all, you know very well that I adore everything you do, so, on this side, no problem Now... on the very general level of your proposal, the point where you're very smart, I think, is that you stay woolly Peter At last you begin to be clear Patrick No, I think, where you're very strong is that you show the minimum, and of course, in a competition like this, you practically allow the jury , everyone, to dream about his own idea of housing, planning, his ideal city development Peter In other words, you're criticising the project now, because it doesn't propose the classical images you expect, or what? Patrick Well, I think, where I don't agree with you, but you've known for a long time, is on the question about the total neutralisation of the institutions, for example Peter It's not a question of neutralising anything, but I don't think that one must necessarily give a symbolic dimension to an institutional building Patrick Yeah, well Peter Because institution in itself is already symbolic enough, far before you're in front of the building Patrick I wouldn't say that I don't agree, but what makes me wonder is, on the very general level of planning you propose, the lack of recognition of some major signs Peter Well, the major signs, phew, you mean the place which gives a dimension of greatness to man Patrick Well, it's still the place of meeting, and... Peter No, I don't think that the place is still the point of meeting, we're no more in the middle ages, and even then, it depended of the social status Patrick Well!... Peter Anyway, we, as architects, cannot predetermine alone theses points of meeting and establish a kind of hierarchy of possibilities Patrick Well, what seems interesting to me in our profession is precisely to establish these hierarchies Peter OK, if you think like that, I understand you don't feel close to my project Patrick And if I understand your project well, if I go to the cops I'm not even sure to go to the cops, hey Peter laughs Patrick If I must go to the cops, I've no choice, I go to the cops Peter OK, I leave you for now, I've to move a bit forward Patrick I mean, you know that I often take my car and, well, I still have the feeling to "go somewhere", to go to the cinema, to go to, er, the theatre... THEATRE Helen Then, I let go my grasp and looked to see what had happened. Anne Then you stand up and turn to face the audience Postman's voice Excuse-me, hello Anne Hello Postman I have a telegram for Mrs. Helen Gibel Helen Yes, it's me.... thanks Helen It's Peter Anne Ah ! Helen, reading Image is no more to be seen in the sense of Lacan. For him, woman doesn't exist. For me she does. I need you By the way, this afternoon I'll be on TV, watch me and see if I really made up an image of you, rather of me Helen Tonight, if you've some time, I'd like to invite you at the restaurant for a nice meal, please don't say no, I'll wait for you WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni In the car, that's where I practically work, because I think a lot. When you wait for the bus, you don't have time to think, there always this kind of... Driving is OK. While driving I can think, I listen to music, but not necessarily Steeve Ray When you live in town, the taboo is to say to people : have no cars. The car is over, in town, you'll use the public transports, no more parkings Diana Stiles You mean : reintroduce the taboos Peter-André Bohnet No, no, suppress these taboos Steeve Ray Suppress the taboos PARK Peter, young Well, such a park, it's what we call an oasis, an oasis in a city. We also say a green lung. It's necessary in a city. WORKSHOPS Diana Stiles I think we have to reduce traffic in town, because it pollutes and it makes noise, but it's part of life. When you look at these big precincts, in the US or in New-Zealand, let's say, it's sad, it's very very sad André Haarscheidt Urban and public architecture is a question of conscience, because it's built reality with which people have to live Steeve Ray One's to regain conscience, in fact André Haarscheidt The conscience that we can define only up to a certain point what actually happens in a place THEATRE Helen By the way, I was asking myself.... Couldn't we do away with the young pigeon ? WORKSHOPS André Haarscheidt I don't conceive a place or a house, etc., but I leave the things open so that they can change through their use and through time Patrick Magnin There is a very beautiful Chinese proverb which approximately says "the house half belongs to whom looks at it" THEATRE Helen No, no, I just said it like this, it's your play Anne Can we go on ? Helen Yeah... Helen When we first began reading Dashiel Hammet, Gertrude Stein remarked that it was his modern note to have disposed of his victims before the story commenced. And so it is in the kitchen. For me, as for so many others, it suddenly became a disagreeable necessity to have to do it when war came and Occupation followed. Helen It was at this time, then, that murder in the kitchen began. The first victim was a lively carp... Anne No, stop. We're not going to begin declaiming because it's about a murder Helen Yeah, the murder of a carp, bep, bep Anne Well, I'd be glad to let you play the part of the carp Helen Ah, it's serious, today Anne OK... I'd like you to resume it on a more sober tone Anne's voice as an echo Sober ! Anne More... interior Anne's voice as an echo Interior ! Anne Like an inner voice we can hear.... a kind of off-in , you see ? Helen Yeah...well, I'll try Anne Mmh Helen It was at this time.... It was at this time, then, that murder in the kitchen began. The first victim was a lively carp The first victim was a lively carp, brought in the kitchen by a fish man who said he had no time to kill, scale or clean it, nor would he tell me with which of these horrible necessities one began. It wasn't difficult to know which was the most repellent. It wasn't difficult to know which was the most repellent. A heavy sharp knife came to my mind as the perfect choice and I carefully, deliberately found the base of its vertebral column and plunged the knife in and... horror of horrors... Anne laughs Helen What ? it's not in enough, not off enough? Anne I don't know, but it's quite funny Helen Listen, I can do it differently but you must tell me more clearly what you want Anne We've been working on this play for a month and not once did I had the feeling that you're aware of what you're doing Helen You don't seem ready to question your work method, eh ? Anne looks to Helen et crosses her arms Helen Listen, I try it again Anne All right Helen When we first began reading Dashiel Hammet, Gertrude Stein remarked that it was his modern note to have disposed of his victims before the story commenced. And so it is in the kitchen. For me, as for so many others, it suddenly became a disagreeable necessity to have to do it when war came and Occupation followed. It was at this time, then, that murder in the kitchen began. The first victim was a lively carp, brought to the kitchen by a fish man who said he had no time to kill, scale or clean it WORKSHOPS Steeve Ray So I think that architecture and the city in general will move to lighter building, less sophisticated, more open, that people can afford Diana Stiles We, architects, we want to build, we want to see the transformation of our cities, we want to see this evolution WORKSHOPS Ugo Brunoni So I think that the city, it's like.... we have to create new cells, haven't we?, our body also manifests it, it improves itself, it changes its cells and the city has to change too... otherwise, it becomes old... if we had never changed something since we're born, we'd already be dead Patrick Magnin The first cave dweller who stood up in front of his cave to pile up three stones to shelter from the wind already made a modification, a destruction of the site Ugo Brunoni So, we, architects, we've to do pieces which make our time Peter-André Bohnet I think that we're loosing a bit these big theories of architecture or town planning that were taught generation after generation, like this André Haarscheidt Because we realise now how cities, or conflicts, come out of chaos Steeve Ray And with all the recent theories of chaos - well not so recent any more, 15 years ago - I believe that we try to move much more in this sense, to offer much more possibilities of connections André Haarscheidt That is, we develop another approach of planning and maybe it is not only a question of generation.... ....but, in fact, I think it is Steeve Ray There are people saying "then, we must restore". I mean, it's like asking a painter to... as if we'd asked Paul Klee to do the Mona Lisa again Patrick Magnin We cling more and more to everything that subsists, not for their intrinsic qualities, like major works, but because these things have the virtue of being existing for ages Steeve Ray There are a lot of historians, eh, in politics Michel Pedrolini That's how it works, and now, one brings in all kind of regulations and what one wants us to do is exactly what our ancestors already did 200 years ago Maybe we use modern technologies, which means that we disguise a hyper modern construction system by adding stone or wood to simulate ancient....which is totally absurd.... it's doing museums...it's doing Ballenberg on the whole territory...it's doing the little dwarf's house everywhere THEATRE Helen For a 3-lb. carp, chop a medium-sized onion and cook it gently in 3 tablespoons butter. Add a slice of bread cut into small cubes which have previously been soaked in dry, white wine and squeezed dry, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 chopped shallots, 1 clove of pressed garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, a pinch of freshly ground pepper, the same of laurel and thyme and 12 boiled chestnuts pressed... and fresh... Helen laughs Anne Oh, shit ! Helen, laughing I'm sorry... ON THE PHONE Peter Hello ? Inès Yeah, listen, I still wanted to tell you something... you seem very stressed... calm down Peter What "calm down" Inès I you arrive and you're completely fidgety, they'll think "who is this crazy guy?" On the contrary, your entire project shows a certain calm, the city is to be built gradually, by stages, with an architecture which... I'm not going to repeat you all the themes of your project, but... Peter Listen, what matters is above all to convey the political aspect of the project Inès Well, the demonstration of it is in your project... I wouldn't worry too much... Peter Yes, but it's Inès And, on the other hand, the types of temporary architectures you chose for the parts, let's say, one considers like more institutional, that are therefore in stone.... well, it's a redefinition of institution which is quite correct, politically correct, as one says... no, no, it's really great Peter That's not really the question, I meant the refusal of using, in the project, architecture as a symbolical sign Inès Right, this is what'll make the majority scream, naturally, as you didn't... as I said, you didn't come back neither to a use of symbolical forms, nor to materials evoking durability or time Peter Well, it isn't either the question of the materials and I precisely still have to find out the right words, a way to talk about it clearly WORKSHOPS Gilles Bellmann Well, there is the discourse of the building permit, that is to say, one must sell its project the client often ask for an image or imposes an image or asks the architect to give a particular image of its building, above all, and only then one looks if it works ON THE PHONE Inès Anyway, what I can say is that....OK, we didn't make an unanimous vote, but the majority of the jury believes in this very vision WORKSHOPS Gilles Bellmann No, I mean, we're forced to talk about this very image, every time, because it's the one which is reflected André Haarscheidt The fact that something has to represent is, naturally, a political question... symbolise money... or power ON THE PHONE Inès The authorities had already got it, as we prepared the program, that it's actually the aim to look for today's vision of, let's say, the representation of power WORKSHOPS Inès Lamunière Clearly, we cannot ignore that an administrative building it's made of glass if anything... Patrick Devanthéry or of stone Inès Lamunière yes, of stone, and that housing will be roughcast and wood windows, well, some big archetypes like this... we're obliged to work with them ON THE PHONE Inès As you imply both that the buildings will be done by stages and that they'll be some of a quite simple architecture, er, obviously, a politician will have some difficulty in finding his label, you see, his side, "bam!", like this : that's MY building... So, it's of course not the image we had in the movies, in the style of Gary Cooper, or Roosevelt standing in front of his Roosevelt Centre and laying the hand on his scale model Peter Yeah, eh Inès Anyway, I wish you good luck, I know there'll be members of the jury... Unfortunately I cannot come to this Colloquium but it doesn't mean that I don't support it, see?, really not So, good luck, bye Peter Thanks, bye THEATRE Helen Horror of horrors, the carp was dead, murdered in the first, second and third degree....Limp, I took a cigarette, lighted it. After a second cigarette my courage returned and I went to prepare this carp ... A violent noise. Helen turns her head and interrupt herself briefly. Helen ...stuffed with chestnuts. For a 3-lb. carp, chop a medium-sized onion and cook it gently in 3 tablespoons butter. Add a slice of bread cut into small cubes which have previously been soaked in dry, white wine and squeezed dry, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 chopped shallots, 1 clove of pressed garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, a pinch of freshly ground pepper, the same of laurel and thyme and 12 boiled and peeled chestnuts. Mix well, allow to cool, add 1 raw egg, stuff the cavity and head of the fish, carefully snare with skewers and tie the head so that nothing will escape in cooking. Anne Not bad EXTERIOR, ACCIDENT Voice, off Are you hurt?... are you hurt ? HOSPITAL Message on television : We inform the audience that the Colloquium of architecture is cancelled. A new date will soon be communicated The doctor, off This is not the sign of a particular problem Helen, off He was very stressed these last weeks The doctor, off Delirium is an ordinary phenomenon after this kind of operation The doctor Now we've to be patient. Nothing precise can be said yet Well, hope is allowed as Mr. Laurel seems to be very resistant. Theoretically, he should have been killed outright THEATRE Helen Theoretically.... Anne Well, theory has its weak points HOSPITAL Helen Fortunately, theory has its weak points Are you sure that a heart attack isn't at the origin of the accident ? The doctor Not completely. but the tests didn't show any weakness on this side Anne Well... what side ? Anne What side ? Helen I don't understand The doctor Er, I think that only he could explain, because the chock has destroyed everything... Absolutely everything. well, except this bottle, strangely Anne Helen Well, yeah, the knife.... Anne and Helen laugh. (the end) CREDIT TITLES the architect : Thomas Schunke the theatre actress : Anne-Laure Luisoni the theatre Director : Isabelle Migraine With the participation of : Inès Lamunière (as a jury member) and of : Patrick Devanthéry (as a colleague) the doctor : Felix Kazoe the stretcher-bearer : Didier Mathys the nurse : Maria Watzlawick the postman : Eric André Voices : Laurent Valdès, Nathalie Desponds HOSPITAL The doctor, off We should let him rest now CREDIT TITLES architects : Gilles Bellmann Peter-André Bohnet Ugo Brunoni Patrick Devanthéry André Haarscheidt Inès Lamunière Patrick Magnin Michel Pedrolini Steeve Ray Diana Stiles Director, camera woman and editor : Patricia Nydegger Lightening : Eric André, Romed Wyder, Hans Schürmann sound : Philippe Ciompi, Bastien Moeckli Ulrich Fischer, Thomas Schunke, Christian Ramondetto Music : Thomas Schunke, Patricia Nydegger and samples of : "jig, amble and lisp" de/from jiri.ceiver sound mix : Denis Séchaud sets : Patricia Nydegger scale models : Thomas Schunke executive production : Patricia Nydegger production assistant : Pascal Baumgartner catering : Maria Watzlawick other technical collaborations : Laurent Valdès Henri Montavon Henri Guareschi Jochen Bechler Dominique Martin Piece of theatre adapted from "Cook book" from Alice B. Toklas Images of the press conference at the opening of the Arditi-Wilsdor's theatre, Geneva, 1996 restored by I.L. and P.D. With the kind participation of : Teo Jakob, Geneva, for furniture Bon Génie, Geneva, for costumes UMM, Collex-Genthod, for the Mega car The High School of Visual Art of Geneva The Universitary Hospital of Geneva The School of Decorative Arts, Geneva The Highways Maintenance of Geneva Many thanks to : Alice Arnold, Jacques Magnin, Julien Schmid, Daniel Gibel, Stefan Altenburger, Nathalie Flückiger, Marco Kaufmann, DAVI, Solange Gallego, Cinétec, Diane Rouge-Wick, Sandra Nydegger, François-Christophe Marzal, Ruth Baertig, Monserrat Castelsague-Perolini et tous les autres and all the others.... Copyright - Patricia Nydegger, 1997