The facade and the contextual expression of dynamic use : a culinary arts school and restaurant in Paris

Abstract

This thesis explores the possibility of independent, expressive, and contemporary design resulting from an initial contextual investigation. The site is located in Paris, on Avenue Montaigne, adjacent to the mid-point of the Champs-Eiysees. The project is a culinary arts school with student housing and a restaurant. The first part of the thesis describes the historical, political, and social factors that bear on the context. The second part extracts some important characteristics of the context . These characteristics will be the basis of the design. The project will show how each issue becomes transformed during the design process. For such a design in a city, and especially Paris, the exploration culminates in the conception of the facade. The elevation makes obvious the intention of stressing the skin-like quality of the Parisian facade while breaking through it to reveal the inside life of the restaurant. The result of this investigation is a design which is self- referential but is an integral part of the context it emanates from.