2024-11-14T15:30:18-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/81542777/bureau-a-s-parole-wins-in-swiss-art-awards-2013 Justine Testado 2013-09-10T21:04:00-04:00 >2013-09-10T21:12:06-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/0q/0qjivrzfl7fy60fe.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p> Swiss firm <a href="http://www.a-bureau.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BUREAU A</a> recently won first prize in Architecture in the Swiss Art Awards 2013 for one of their latest projects, "Parole - Champ-dollon 1/24." Although the project looks like a simple mouse cage, it comes with a strong message about complex social issues.</p> <p> "Parole" is a sculptural cage that is a reinterpretation of a part of the Champ-Dollon--a prison in Geneva, Switzerland that is known for its maximum occupancy ratios. The project highlights the debates regarding the role of architects and architecture when it comes to commissions of an ethically questionable and politically charged nature, like building a prison. Furthermore, the project emphasizes that architects should use their skills and tools to create structures that raise awareness of these debates and challenge these commissions instead of "quietly" designing them and aiming for perfection to appease the clients.</p> <p> Precisely scaled to the ratio of laboratory mice at 1:24, "Parole" also addresses ongoing glob...</p>