A profile of Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel (Fumel, Francia, 1945) is widely recognised as one of the most important architects of our time. He has produced some fundamental pieces of contemporary architecture, including the Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris, 1987), the Fondation Cartier (Paris, 1993), the Opera de Lyon (Lyon, 1993), the Musikhalle/cultural and conference centre (Lucerne, 1992) and Galeries Lafayette (Berlin 1995). His more recently completed works include the expansion of the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid and the Agbar Tower in Barcelona.

Nouvel’s distinctive architectural style places emphasis on the value of diversity. This manifests itself mainly in a special attention to the contextual conditions of a project, in both a physical sense (the place) and a cultural one. His architecture is sensitive to the changes of the contemporary world. That is why it expresses a variety of languages and forms, different each time; these are always the result of Nouvel’s personal interpretation of the initial conditions of the context. Nouvel’s works are suspended between two opposite poles: the desire for an aesthetics of the dematerialisation of architecture – an exemplary case of which is the “Endless Tower” (Paris, 1989); and the wish to re-affirm the heavy mass of the earth, creating monolithic volumes that mould an artificial landscape, introjecting spaces and urban functions – such as the Icelandic National Concert, Conference Hall and Hotel (Reykjavik, 2005).

Nouvel’s own words give an idea of some of the significant aspects that make up his modus operandi. Re-reading some fragments of conversations and lectures held by the French architect in recent years helps us gain a partial understanding of his personal point of view on architecture, on the profession of architect and on how he tackles a project as unusual as Kilometro Rosso.

On architecture
“My idea of what is modern, of architecture in contemporary times, consists precisely of diversity, in the idea of building something new every time, which is the result of a highly detailed examination of the context and circumstances around the building” [6]

“My architecture seeks to provide an original response to the specific conditions of individual projects. This means that it is very difficult to establish a common feature, a unit of comparison between the buildings I’ve designed in Lyon or in Copenhagen or Lucerne. It’s never the same thing: each time it’s a case of translating the architectural idea through very different expressions” [4]

“Architecture is a way of stimulating emotions in a wide audience ” [5]

On the profession of architect
“An architect is called upon to respond to a programme, to satisfy a requirement. Through his response he expresses the cultural attitudes of his time” [5]

“The profession of the architect inevitably revolves around a method of seduction. The architect finds himself in a very unusual situation; he is not an artist in the traditional sense, he does not sit thinking before a white page, he does not work with a canvas before him; rather, I see him as similar to a film director, because the constraints are more or less the same: you must produce an object within a precise timescale, with a set budget and for certain people. And you work with a team” [3]

“Nowadays, architects have a lot of new methods available and materials that allow them to combine traditional and brand-new techniques: that’s the modernity of architecture. Then it’s up to the architect to use those tools to give a precise sense to his work. These are Renaissance years for architecture. As for the future, je n’sais pas, I don’t know” [5]

On Kilometro Rosso
“I’ve never built anything like what I designed for Kilometro Rosso near Bergamo, and I’d never even have imagined such a project had I not found myself building it along a motorway; nor would I have imagined it like that had there not been the opportunity to create a wonderful park. There are some very strong design motives behind certain choices, and I believe that this building makes sense precisely in this location, and that I would not have been able to design it in any other way” [4]

“We’re on a motorway! There’s an entire poetics of speed, from road movies to Wim Wenders, a poetics of the asphalt. I wanted to play with that aesthetic dimension. Those who travel on the motorway are also part of this contemporary poetry” [4]

“Red is the colour that stands out most. It’s also a very abstract colour and will be even more abstract in this case, because the wall will be north-facing, and so without shadow. Red is a theoretical colour that’s used to trace out certain axes on maps. Its symbolic dimension will be reinforced by the particularly elongated shape of the Kilometro; from a distance, in both directions on the road, it will appear as a very thin line. Red is also the colour of transversality, of the bond, the relationship. And it is the colour of limits. On one side there’s a noisy, polluted world: we have to stop it; this boundary therefore becomes very sharp, in total contrast with its complementary colour which is the green of the park. Which won’t just be a series of trees. The natural landscape around Bergamo is so rich and luxuriant… We are going to try and create an extraordinary garden in this place” [4]

On Nouvel
“I always begin with a dream: my favourite place to work, the most efficient one, is my bed. It’s there that I apply myself, consciously or unconsciously, thinking about the images that I’ve gathered, and that I gather” [6]

“I’m a kleptomaniac who steals from lots of different fields, including the media that I use” [6]

“I do architecture with the seriousness of a child having fun” [1]

References
1. Giampiero Bosoni (editor), “Jean Nouvel. Una lezione in Italia”, Skira, Milano, 1999

2. Interview by Marco Casamonti (September 2001) published on the website www.floornature.it

3. Jean Baudrillard, Jean Nouvel, “Architettura e nulla. Oggetti singolari”, Electa, Milano, 2003

4.  Interview by Carlo Dignola published in L'Eco di Bergamo on 31.05.’03

5.  Interview by Giuseppe Pullara published in the Corriere della Sera on 06.05.’04

6. Interview by Sebastiano Brandolini published in the supplement “Il Venerdi” [“D”] with La Repubblica on 02.04.’05