• Conférence
  • Partenariat
21.01.25 18h30

Stone, Concrete, and Architecture

Antoine Picon (Professor at Harvard Graduate School of Design)
@ MNHN (Musée national d'histoire naturelle)
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© The Stonemasonry Company
Whether referring to Greek temples or even the architecture of Gothic cathedrals, stone has long been the reference material for monumental architecture. In countries such as France and Spain, sophisticated stone-cutting processes were developed between the Renaissance and the 18th century to create spectacular works.

This lecture will offer a reflection on the specific qualities and limitations of using this material. It will then look at the development of concrete, often initially presented by its promoters as a kind of ‘artificial stone’. Finally, it will discuss the return of stone masonry to architecture, a return that is taking place almost everywhere today in connection with the growing urgency of climate change.

  • Venue : MNHN (Musée national d'histoire naturelle)
  • Language : EN
  • Free, registration required

This lecture is organised by LUCA in collaboration with the MNHN, as part of the exhibition “Luxembourg on the Rocks” at the MNHN.

Registration

Antoine Picon

Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology at Harvard Graduate School of Design

Antoine Picon is Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology at the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he is also Chair of the PhD in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning. He teaches courses in the history and theory of architecture and technology. Trained as an engineer, architect, and historian, Picon works on the relationships between architectural and urban space, technology, and society, from the eighteenth century to the present.

 

Picon has received a number of awards for his writings, including the Médaille de la Ville de Paris, and twice the Prix du Livre d’Architecture de la Ville de Briey, a well as the Georges Sarton Medal of the University of Gand. In 2010, he was elected a member of the French Académie des Technologies. In 2015, he became a member of the French Académie d’Architecture. He is Chevalier des Arts et Lettres since 2014. He is Chairman of the Fondation Le Corbusier since 2013.

 

Picon received science and engineering degrees from the Ecole Polytechnique and from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, an architecture degree from the Ecole d’Architecture de Paris-Villemin, a PhD in history and a Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.

Antoine Picon © Canadian Center for Architecture