Skyline is composed by time overlays. The two dimensional picturesque panorama skyline from city’s postcards is the result of both instant moment and transition of history. These inner city panorama questions how skyline forms in the content of series of urban transformation.
I, therefore, argue that skyline is the composition derived from social, political and historical changes.
By choosing Place de la Concorde in Paris as the experimental playground, the project at the beginning investigated 360 degrees skyline formed around Place de la Concorde:. The ‘skyline’ is not architecturally designed, the line is purely a representation of past Parisian historical, social and political events. Since time can be quantified and be seen. The entire history of all monuments around Place de la Concorde can be then read through compressed logarithmic Time Machine.
Today’s urban skyline is just one of the possible scenario generated by those historical, social and political events in the Time Machine. By designing the game board La Concorde, the project aims to use the game as a tool to generate series of ‘what-if’ architectural ‘imaginary skyline’. By selecting two architects, two urbanists and two politicians as game players, the game is merely just an architectural game, each move from the players gradually transformed to an alternative history and new skyline in the future.
Current skyline is one of scenarios of architectural composition derived from social, political and cultural changes.
To question the notion of skyline, the board game 'La Concorde' were played by two architects, two urbanists and two politicians.
PLACE DE LA CONCORDE IN PARIS IS USED AS THE EXPERIMENTAL PLAYGROUND because of its 360 degrees inner-city panorama. Entire Parisian history, politics and social changes, or even to larger scale of French history, politics, and social changes, can be seen from the centre of Place de la Concorde.
THE HISTORICAL LINE OF PARIS WAS DEFINED AND TRANSFORMED BY SERIES OF HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, SOCIAL EVENTS. This ‘sky line’ is not architecturally designed, the line is purely a representation of these events.
The HISTORICAL AXIS was in particular in charged by politicians.
SKYLINE IS COMPOSED BY TIME OVERLAYS. I argue that the skyline that we captured at this instant moment (0.1 second) is only one of the architectural scenarios. The two dimensional picturesque panoramic skyline is the result of both instant moment and transience of history.
Time can be quantified and be seen. The panoramic skyline is condensed architectural result of these changes. The time of transforming current skyline can be presented as ‘compressed’ TIME MACHINE. THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF ALL MONUMENTS AROUND PLACE DE LA CONCORDE CAN BE COMPRESSED INTO THE LOGARITHMIC TIME MACHINE.
As I start dissembling the compressed time machine, any historical moments [represented by the architectural composition] were caused by previous event. They were linked as ‘chain events’. If one event was changed, then the rest would also varied as result. WHAT WE SEE TODAY AT PLACE DE LA CONCORDE IS JUST ONE OF THE ARCHITECTURAL SCENARIO.
Therefore, by carefully designing the board game La Concorde, new ‘what/if’ skylines are stimulated.
The game was played by two architects, Le Corbusier and Albert Speer.
The game was played by two urbanists, Haussmann and Jane Jacobs.
The game was played by two politicians: Haussmann and Mitterrand. Later, I am also involved in this game as well.
