Modern Paris Map (1900-70)

From January 2022 Photolanguage began researching for a Modern Map of Paris, our second map of Paris for Blue Crow Media (published Autumn 2023). The map charts a selection of early examples, from the emergence of a proto-Modernism in the 1910s (the typology of concrete frame, artisanal workshops and works by Auguste Perret and Paul Gaudet); to the height of avant-garde experimentation in the 1920s and 30s; the post-war era of reconstruction and infrastructural development; through to examples of the late modernism of the 1960s. Its aim is to highlight the diversity of Modernist spatial expression in Paris, both adjusted to the scale and typologies of the city centre, and also of a tabula rasa Modernism of new urbanism. Whilst architects such as Le Corbusier and Jean Prouvé dominate the received histories of French Modernism, the map emphasises the broader range of contributions by lesser known architects, and encourages itineraries of travel from the centre to more peripheral zones, to works by architects such as Marion Tournan-Branlay, Denis Honegger, Marcel Lods, André Lurcat, Raymond Petit and Fernand Pouillon.

Supports: Blue Crow Media.    With special thanks to Paul Sutliff.