Dominique Coulon & Associés. Arquitectura 1996- 2019 Monograph

“El encuentro con Dominique Coulon y su arquitectura ha sido el descubrimiento de un verdadero maestro. Con un talante de gran sencillez personal, y con un trabajo muy intenso, ha puesto en pie con sus obras coherentes y maduras y hermosísimas, una arquitectura capaz de permanecer en el tiempo y de hacer felices a los que vivan en ella.”
With these words Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza introduces readers to a discovery of the works of French architect Dominique Coulon, in the monograph dedicated to him entitled: “Dominique Coulon & Associés. Arquitectura 1996- 2019”, no. 140, recently published by Spanish publisher TC Cuadernos.
The 336-page monograph, the first dedicated to Dominique Coulon, presents works by the architect and his studio from 1996. The journey begins with the Collège Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg (1996), the first project that brought the French architect into the international spotlight, then continues with 30 works leading to the latest projects: an in-depth exploration of the designs recognised and appreciated by French and international critics.

The projects presented in the monograph offers a broad view of the variety of public works by Dominique Coulon from schools to theatres, sports centres, libraries and specialised residences.
Each project is presented with designs and a large number of photos that show the wealth of interiors featuring, above all, a skillful use ofstrong, lively colours.
Colour and precision are considered to be the distinctive features of the work of this French architect, “who is able to create high-quality spaces, moving agilely between contained geometry, squares, prisms, perpendiculars and diagonals, curves, organic and symbolic shapes” as we read in the introduction to the volume.

The monograph contains public works: various types and levels of schools, theatres, libraries, sports centres, specialised residences for the differently-abled and the elderly; different projects with the common feature of being “a place of mediation between the public institution, the city as a community and its inhabitants”,in the words of Mara Corradi. Some of the works already known to the readers of Floornature are, for example, Teatro Théodore Gouvy in Freyming-Merlebach an avant-garde home for music and the performing arts, chosen for the shortlist of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2019. School buildings like the Josephine Baker school in the Parisian suburb of La Courneuve, the Saint-Jean complex in Strasbourg, and the nursery school of Buhl in Alsace. Sports structures like the Henri Wallon swimming pool in Bagneux, and the Human Rights Sports Centre in Strasbourg. There are buildings aimed at the community like the Huningue Centre for the Elderly and the Third-Place Media Centre in Thionville.

(Agnese Bifulco)

*Translation of the words of Alberto Campo Baeza:
Getting to know Dominique Coulon and his architecture was discovering a real master. With great personal simplicity and extremely hard work he has created beautiful, coherent and mature works, architecture that will stand the test of time and make those who experience it happy.

Images courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés photo by: © Eugeni Pons © David Romero Uzeda

BOOK DATA
Collection: TC Cuadernos www.tccuadernos.com
Number: 140
Title: Dominique Coulon & Associés. Arquitectura 1996- 2019
Language: Français, Español, English
Pages number: 336 pages
Format: 23 x 29,5 cm
Coverage: flexible
Photos: © Eugeni Pons, © Jean-Marie Monthiers, © Patrick Miara, © Clément Guillaume
ISBN: 978-84-17753-01-6

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