An 4000, Festival Des Architectures Vives Montpellier 2021

Photo credit: Paul Kozlowski ©photoarchitecture.com An 4000, festival jury prize winner for the theme of transition

Each year in Montpellier, since its founding in 2006, the Festival des Architectures Vives is organized by the Champ Libre association. The festival is an architectural path for the general public, who can discover or rediscover unexpected places of urban heritage – such as mansions and courtyards – through installations created by teams of architects around a chosen theme.

The FAV 2021’s theme was 'Transition', approached from multiple perspectives: ecological, digital, human, and environmental. It is around that last perspective that Atelier AJO designed its installation, An 4000, winner of the jury prize.

Atelier AJO

Montpellier, France

An installation offering a vision of a possible distant future

"An 4000. Visitors look into the mirror and experience a future scenario. Upon approach, their reflections fade down: they no longer exist. Humanity is no more. However, the planet continues to exist without them, as it did for 99.9% of its history. Through a long transition, and with an incredible capacity for resilience, Nature proliferates infinitely from all sides, absorbing any traces left by Humanity on the ecosystem."

A kinetic and interactive installation

The device is simple: a one-way mirror facing a single mirror. The visitor, standing behind the first mirror, experiences self-contemplation. As the person moves forward, it is no longer their own image that they see, but rather the reflection of the second mirror and the vegetation mass located in the gap between the two mirrors, reflected ad infinitum - a possible vision of the space submerged in nature in 2000 years' time.

Data Sheet

• Name of the project: An 4000 • Place: Montpellier - France • Date: July 6-10, 2021 • Architects: Alice Delattre / José Roldán • Budget: 3300€TTC • Photographer: Paul KOZLOWSKI ©photoarchitecture

About Atelier AJO

Atelier AJO was born from the joining of two architects, Alice Delattre and José Roldán, with complementary Franco-Spanish approaches and cultures, following an initial collaboration within the RCR arquitectes agency in Spain. The architects attach equal importance to the design and manufacturing process, and the final object. They work on a small scale in order to link the architectural practice to the creation, touch, understanding, and hands-on research, paying particular attention to materials and intricate details. Atelier AJO strives to include their actions as part of a social commitment approach, constantly questioning the current challenges of the environment, consumption, and re-use.

www.dumishmash.com du_mishmash