The Barracks of Pion: Developing the Edge of the Park of Versailles

Versailles is often considered the site of invention of the classical city. Strikingly, the shapes of the city respond to those of the park. This link between geography, agrarian structures, and urban forms is an extraordinary reference for the contemporary city. This spring 2015 studio focused on a site adjacent to the park-former military barracks, where the city is planning to develop a new neighborhood. At the center of this study was the construction of peri-urban areas, their inclusion in an agricultural territory, the deciphering and transposition of historical traces, and the invention of urban forms in relation to the creation of public spaces across the landscape.

The Barracks of Pion: Developing the Edge of the Park of Versailles is a Studio Report from the Spring 2015 semester at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Studio Instructors
Michel Desvigne, Inessa Hansch

Teaching Assistant
Samantha Solano

Students
Hillary Archer, Josh Brown, Zheming (Taro) Cai, John Frey, Courtney Goode, Qiyi Li,
Lara Mehling, M. Catalina Picon, Bingjie Shi, Samantha Solano, Sonja Vangjeli, Evelyn Volz, Xiaodi Yan

Guest Critics
Jane Amidon, Anita Berrizbeitia, Joan Busquets, Sonja Dumpelmann, Gary Hilderbrand, Mark Laird, Charles Waldheim

Contributor
Gary Hilderbrand

ISBN 978-1-934510-5-13

Available for purchase from the Frances Loeb Library and Amazon.com.