2024-11-21T22:39:40-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149980926/new-territories-projects-forward-in-its-retrospective-at-the-frac-centre-in-val-de-loire-france Nicholas Korody 2016-11-30T20:00:00-05:00 >2016-12-07T20:27:16-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/09/09tbe7fnrqce9lb5.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>"Architects corrupt discourse, manipulate competition, make morality their banner and social responsibilities into an amulet or agit-prop," writes <a href="http://archinect.com/news/tag/655727/new-territories" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New-Territories</a>, the constantly-mutating Bangkok-based, French-born architecture studio, previously known as <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/14321/r-sie" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">R&amp;Sie</a> and elsewhere as M4 (MindMachineMakingMyths). &ldquo;They live and breathe the profound hypocrisy of human nature, with which they are consubstantial. Space is their playground, their control and coercion lever."</p><p>Deferring the authorial power assumed by architects stands as a central concern for New-Territories, which is integrally associated with the architect Fran&ccedil;ois Roche (despite his best efforts). Founded in 1993, New-Territories is officially &ldquo;headed&rdquo; by the &ldquo;Avatar&rdquo;, a digitally-generated androgynous figure, who tethers together a practice that is more fragmented than unitary. The &ldquo;Avatar&rdquo; also stands-in for a diverse roster of collaborators, including the artists Pierre Huyghe and Camille Lacadee. It is therefore a strange ...</p>