Experiments on Urban Grounds: terrestrial urbanities in dialogue between France and Lithuania
Urban transitions can only be addressed by imagining cities by their grounds. But how can we share such rooted knowledge across borders?
Urbanists from France and Lithuania are invited to share their experiments with, and experiences of, the terrestrial, to mark the premiere of the documentary film Experiments on Urban Grounds (Laurynas Skeisgiela, 20 min), filmed in Paris and Vilnius. Between metropoles and their hinterlands, how can we work with the natural resources of urban rivers, create bioregional public spaces, or repair the links between city and agricultural lands?
The documentary (Laurynas Skeisgiela, 20 min) follows three young Lithuanian architects and urbanists who participated in the Experiments’ Platform, and their research developed through a Experiments’ Exchange residency between France and Lithuania. Their questions, brought up by the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, brings them to explore the margins of Grand Paris – from the Bièvre river to the Gonesse Triangle, passing by the commons of the city centre. Returning to Vilnius, they developed speculative design projects that propose alternatives for terrestrial urbanism. Responding to these propositions, Sigita Simona PapIauskaite (landscape architect), Johanna Musch (Umarell Collective / LINA Fellow 2023) and Théo Mouzard (Collectif Etc) will speak about their experience with the terrestrial, in a discussion chaired by Océane Ragoucy (architect-curator / LINA Fellow 2023). The discussion will be followed by informal discussions and a presentation of research posters in the bar, with Marta Dorotėja Lekavičiūtė, Simona Gaigalaitė and Edgar Vladimirenko, urbanists and participants in the residence.
Event organised by Theatrum Mundi (UK/FR) and Architektūros fondas (LT) in the context of the Season of Lithuania in France 2024 / LINA European Architecture Programme. Resulting from the residency Experiments Exchange organised by John Bingham-Hall and Daniel Mebarek (Theatrum Mundi), with Martynas Germanavičius and Vilius Vaitiekūnas (Architektūros fondas), financed by the Season of Lithuania in France and the LINA Platform.
Place and time: Césure (13 rue Santeuil, Paris 75005), Thursday 14th November 2024, 19.00
Biographies:
Théo Mouzard is an architect and independent researcher, co-director of the Collectif Etc. Since 2010, Collectif Etc has aimed to support initiatives for social and environmental change through the act of doing. Through various experiments utilizing skills in wood and metal construction, consulting, publishing, filmmaking, sewing, screen printing, and more, in France and Europe, we test the hypothesis of frugal and generous architecture. All as potential ways out of an energy-intensive and pyramid-like model of spatial production.
Sigita Simona Paplauskaitė is a landscape architect, researcher, and set designer based in Vilnius and Brussels. Her practice focuses on applying alternative analytical methods to address questions at a local scale while also impacting broader social, urban, and ecological issues. Through research, experimentation, and ongoing projects, she aims to expand ways of collaborating, create new knowledge, and build places that respect their environment.
Simona Gaigalaitė is an architect and founder of the architecture studio “Inout.” For her residency project, Gaigalaitė aims to develop an innovative architectural approach that dialogues between traditional Lithuanian wooden architecture and the dynamic culture of the Paris pavilion.
Edgar Vladimirenko is an architect and a student at the IUAV University of Venice. As part of his participation in the program, Vladimirenko focuses on the Lithuanian countryside, which has undergone radical transformation over the past 50 years.
Marta Dorotėja Lekavičiūtė is an architecture student at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. In her research, Lekavičiūtė aims to study river grass and potentially other vegetation in Vilnius and Paris as viable architectural materials, involving local communities and biologists to assess the sustainability of these materials.
Johanna Musch is a member of Umarell, a transdisciplinary group of architects, urban planners, and Swiss Army knife specialists working at the intersection of urbanism, social design, and local development. Based in Pantin (93), the collective focuses on transforming environments and vulnerable territories. The members of Umarell are particularly interested in experimental research methods and unusual analytical tools that can bring forth vernacular knowledge and raise awareness among users of their own capacity for invention and intervention.
Event organised by Theatrum Mundi (UK/FR) and Architektūros fondas (LT) in the context of the Season of Lithuania in France 2024 / LINA European Architecture Programme. Resulting from the residency Experiments Exchange organised by John Bingham-Hall and Daniel Mebarek (Theatrum Mundi), with Martynas Germanavičius and Vilius Vaitiekūnas (Architektūros fondas), financed by the Season of Lithuania in France and the LINA Platform.
