The City of Thelema (Paperback)

Ricciotti's self-constructed metropolis of imagination, built since childhood, informs the childlike wonder in his architectural practice

As part of Dis Voir's Encounters series, French architect Rudy Ricciotti (born 1952), in collaboration with author Jean-Louis Poitevin, reflects on the role of imagination in his practice, influenced by literary and cinematic characters that shaped his so-called "childhood of art."

Rudy Ricciotti is one of the best-known French architects in the world. In 2006 he was awarded the Grand Prix National de l'Architecture. He designed the Musee des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la M©diterranee (MUCEM) which, in 2013, transformed the image of Marseille and its port. He is also credited with the creation, in 2012, of a space at the Louvre housing the department of Islamic arts, and the renovation the following year of the Jean-Bouin Stadium in Paris. His recent projects include the Chanel building for haute couture, the Maritime Museum in the Sultanate of Oman Born in the suburbs of Algier, he spent his childhood in Camargue after his family left. With his insatiable curiosity, he learned about the world of construction by accompanying his father, a bricklayer, to building sites, but he also quickly discovered the emotional and formative power of the works of great artists, writers, filmmakers and others, which would secretly nourish his work as an architect. The author of numerous books on architecture, he is now also a recognised thinker on the ethical and aesthetic issues that should motivate contemporary architecture.

Jean-Louis Poitevin is a writer, art critic and Doctor of Philosophy. Author of numerous books and articles on contemporary art and literature, he now mainly publishes novels and essays. Since 2005, his research has focused on art and society analysed through the prism of image. From Gracq to Musil, from Flusser and Simondon to Twombly and Nitsch, he has sought to approach the shores of the imagination that have sometimes carried men to incomparable heights. By linking the invention of gods to the systematic destruction of the mysteries of consciousness, he now attempts to outline the contours of the psyche that will replace it.

Architecte et ingénieur français d'origine italienne, Rudy Ricciotti (né en 1952 à Kouba en Algérie, vit et travaille à Bandol dans le Var), lauréat du grand prix national de l'architecture en 2006, est notamment l'architecte du Mucem à Marseille. Il passe son enfance en Camargue après le départ de sa famille d'Algérie en 1955. Il s'initie au monde de la construction en accompagnant son père, maçon, sur les chantiers, mais découvre aussi très vite la puissance affective et formatrice des œuvres de grands artistes, écrivains et cinéastes qui nourriront son travail d'architecte en sous-main. Auteur de nombreux livres sur l'architecture, il est aujourd'hui aussi un penseur reconnu des enjeux éthiques et esthétiques qui devraient motiver l'architecture contemporaine.

Jean-Louis Poitevin (né en 1955) est écrivain, critique d'art et docteur en philosophie. Auteur de nombreux livres et articles sur l'art contemporain et la littérature, il publie à présent essentiellement des romans et des essais. Ses recherches ont porté depuis 2005 sur l'art et la société analysés à travers le prisme de l'image. De Julien Gracq à Robert Musil, de Vilém Flusser et Gilbert Simondon à Cy Twombly et Hermann Nitsch, il a cherché à approcher les rivages des imaginaires qui ont porté les hommes parfois jusqu'à des sommets incomparables. En reliant l'invention des dieux à la destruction systématiques des arcanes de la conscience, il tente, désormais, de dessiner les contours du psychisme qui va la remplacer.