This past Monday the anti-establishment infiltrated Yale School of Architecture in a dashing gold scarf. Seducing the audience with a breathless stream of “Frenglish,” whose charm derived from the speaker’s sheer enthusiasm for his subject, François Roche rose to a god-like status typically only afforded movie stars. And if there were a god in whose likeness he is modeled, it would have to be Janus, the forward-backward-looking deity of beginnings and transitions. — metropolismag.com
Related: R&Sie(n) (cancellation letter)
23 Comments
Is there any shot of his hands?
the Louis Kahn of today
"In reaching outside of architecture to the sciences and arts, Roche recovers territory once under the discipline’s scope." ? When was that?
Perhaps I am just skeptical of the idea that we most always be looking away from architecture to produce newness in architecture. Not to say that there is nothing to be learned from other disciplines, but it does not seem like there is enough discourse about architecture for architecture.
Regardless, Roche seems very interesting.
He's funny lookin'.
Roche might be an interesting "character" but you can tell the author is completely infatuated with the "image" he reflects... if he was so transcendental to the practice, what does it really matter if he was wearing a golden scarf or his "charming Frenglish" accent.
...nothing funnier than a good old battle of pretentious ARTSYtects (with a rich daddy) vs the famous STARchitects.
I think he is trying to appeal to popular culture not the art world when he does that.
...back to your brick stacking now shoo!
I don't think the author is infatuated at all. If anything, the reference to the golden scarf and frenglish charm --not to mention the Janus reference-- makes it pretty clear that she's kinda toungue-n-cheek about the whole deal.
My daughter wears the same kind of barrettes in her hair.
here are some françois roche students' work at usc.
this is incredible!
This is quiet a discovery! The last Neanderthal.
It doesn't surprise me it goes to Yale. They have really been trying to open their doors to new minority groups in recent years.
Still, I'd need at least a sixer of wine coolers before even considering tapping that.
I love maggot architecture. So sexy.
Mug shot dude does have style though - give him that.
And we wonder why new grads are little more than warm bodies knowing little about actual architecture...
And we wonder why new grads are little more than warm bodies knowing little about actual architecture...
And we wonder why people give in to what architecture is supposed to be
Architectural meat in totally tubular form. It seems we've skipped a step here. Perhaps before we reach this far we should work on improving the banality of our current built environment. Baby steps.
I would like to contribute my opinion about Francois Roche. I know he might have alienated a lot of people from left to right. Until four five years ago he wasn’t that, I mean that big, egotistical. He was stubborn and yet inspirational. A lot of people got spin off energy from his initiations. His lectures were rather interesting, surely controversial, at that time. But I feel that we all should evaluate someone not on what have you done for this architecture world lately.
Apparently a few people still don't know the story of that photo of him/them: Its not a photo of Roche alone, but a hybrid image of he and his partner Stephanie, an 'avatar' that is his/their public image, and the only one he (and she?) allows in the press to represent himself/themselves...
oh
@ Louis Kahn
back to your brick stacking now shoo!
Are you talking about that kind of brick stacking?
Our editorial colleague Javier Arbona on François Roche before you go too far on the vanity. This is a way better article on the architects than the usually giddy cult of personality read Metropolis Mag.
"IT’S IN YOUR NATURE I’M LOST IN PARIS"
The mug shot was more attractive when I could believe it was one person. Curse you photoshop!
As for the student work: the maggot architecture is killer, the robotic arm is lame, the texts, what with their needlessly changing font sizes are empty and laughable.
I want a brick setting machine.
oh and that cancellation letter? RAGE!
How do you guys not know about this already? This was really popular like 5 years ago...
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