Jakob Gautel

New Town?

2010-06-14T06:19:03Z

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In 1961, Philippe Bardinet produced a film commissioned by Peugeot, about the new Les Buis area, a model town in Valentigney, near Montbéliard, built to house the thousands of new workers and employees arriving from different regions in France, Italy, Spain or Algeria to work at the Peugeot factory in Sochaux. Though this film was a commission, it asked questions about the real nature of that kind of housing project that are still pertinent today: « Will the children and parents manage to adapt to such new conditions? Is it just a housing project or a real town? » « But man needs more than just to sleep and to eat. He needs … He needs … ».
It questions the younger generation's position, integration, the role played by commerce, and has great cinematographic qualities.

In the meantime the area has changed a lot. The population has diminished, unemployment has increased, and there is a danger of ghettoisation. The Ideal City of 1961 seems distant.

50 years on, for the area's anniversary, I produced a « mirror-film », to be projected opposite the original film, opposing the former images with those of today, showing run-down buildings or those about to be demolished, closed shops, but also the social life in the area, the children and youngsters, and images of spectators watching the film during the three public projections organised by the social and cultural service MJC. These projections were followed by discussions, mediated by Guy Vandeneeckhoute.

Special thanks to Maxime Fraissinet for his precious assistance.

"New Town?", Jakob Gautel 2010
by Jakob Gautel

https://vimeo.com/13941332

Heart of the City

2010-06-14T06:14:25Z

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The area of Les Buis at Valentigney, near Montbéliard, initially conceived as a model housing project, is in the process of being completely restructed. Tower blocks have been destroyed, some small town houses have been built. One of the major problems is the former heart of the area aound the commercial centre : several blocks are still going to be demolished, and apart from three or four shops still resisting, all of the others have closed.

On a proposal by Jakob Gautel, Maxime Fraissenet has produced a realistic model on the scale of 1/200, based on plans, elevations, photos and satellite images. The centre of the model, the heart of the area, is empty. 'Le 19' has organised workshops inviting the inhabitants, children as well as adults, to put forth proposals :

“In this empty space please feel free to express your ideas, your desires and visions for the heart of the area, using any kind of material you want. All of your proposals and ideas are welcome, from the more realistic to the most utopian, from the most pragmatic to pure dream. According to their feasibility, they may serve as an inspirational source for the work of the urban and landscape architecture agency presently working on a study of the case. You can also meet their representatives when they come to the area.”

I also put forward a proposal myself, somewhat surrealist (or might there be a symbolic touch to it ?) : a volcano right in the middle of the area.

Point of view

2010-06-14T06:10:35Z

The Les Fougères area at Grand-Charmont, near Montbéliard, has been restructured, renovated, and rebuilt. It has changed and has a completely new identity.
From May-June 2010, this process of metamorphosis concluded with the demolition of a long tower block. An intense moment, the finishing touch of Les Fougères' transformation.

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An open air cafe had been put up behind the block that was going to be demolished.
— An open air cafe with a panoramic terrasse when the view is totally blocked by this long building ? What an extravagant idea ! There is nothing to see !
And yet this was Jakob Gautel's proposal for the artis'cité programme.
This open air cafe, or, as it might be called in more fashionable terms, lounge bar, is called Point of View, which was also the name for the whole event Jakob proposed in Grand-Charmont.
This last tower block was demolished little by little throughout May 2010. We wanted to « put on stage » this slow disappearance with a panoramic bar, which, in the beginning, had no view at all (in French « il n'a point de vue »), but for which the view was progressively to be opened. A new point of view was born.
For a whole week, different actors and associations of Les Fougères had been animating the café, giving life to this strange and somewhat misfitting place, while the demolition engines working in the background were slowly pulling the curtain. An opportunity to relive memories related to the building and to say Good Bye.

A series of 17 postcards about this event has been edited to show different points of view of this important moment of transformation of the area.

(In German, a “post card” is called an “Ansichtskarte”, which means litterally a “point of view card”. Point of view has a double meaning : the place from which we look at something, or the opinion we have about something.)

Special thanks to Maxime Fraissinet for his precious assistance.
Photos : Céline Babey, Marie Blossier, Jean-Marie Boizeau, Maxime Fraissinet, Jakob Gautel, Aurélie Goetz and by inhabitants of the Les Fougères area.

→ Architectures de cartes postales, blog by David Liaudet

Here we are

2010-05-22T07:59:04Z

From 2009 till 2010, four artists (Jakob Gautel, Fabrice Lauterjung, Laurent Pernel and Bertrand Saugier) have been working in the region of Montbéliard, within the artis'cité programme, coordinated by the regional art centre of Montbéliard, 'Le 19'. This cultural project is part of the ANRU's urban renovation project, and is supported by the Communauté d'Agglomération du Pays de Montbéliard.

In 2010 :

Les Fougères, Grand-Charmont

Point of View : Inauguration of the open-air café on May 25^th.
Different actors and associations of Les Fougères animated this ephemeral site and welcoming meeting place, from May 24^th till May 28^th, while the demolition engines in the background pulled down the Picardie block.
Nous sommes ici - Here we are : The place for which I conceived the logo, showed works done by school children.
Point of View : A photo competition held to collect images for a post card edition.

Les Buis, Valentigney

During the area's annual festival on June 6^th :
New Cities : Projection opposing two films, Ville nouvelle produced by Philippe Bardinet for Peugeot in the 1960s, and the video Ville nouvelle ? filmed as an echo by myself.
The Heart of the City : Presentation of the different modules around the model of the area (produced by Maxime Fraissinet), and inhabitants' commentaries, films and photos of children's workshops on the theme of the Ideal City.

Buildings Take off

2009-11-12T19:41:54Z

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At les Buis (Valentigney), for the area's annual festival, we produced more or less realistic models of the buildings and towers of the district, and then used helium balloons to launch them into the sky. A symbolic gesture paving the way for a new vision of the area.
Some weeks later, a real hot air balloon took off from les Buis, thanks to the Cercle Aérostatique du Pays de Montbéliard.
Visits to the Royal Arc-et-Senans Saltworks were organised to address the question of the Ideal City.

Photos : Jean-Marie Boizeau and Jakob Gautel