Discussing the Garden Metropolis | Nov 1, 2023

What is a “Garden Metropolis” ? Referring to neither the centre nor the periphery, the term refers to urban growth that has mainly occured in the 20th century as a direct extension of major urban centers. Architects Eliasson and Jammes, following their 2022’s Villa Albertine’s residency in Chicago, will adress the diversity or Chicago’s urban grid, as to reveal alternative visions of the metropolitan identity. See the article published on Villa Albertine Magazine: Chicago: an Impossible Transformation?

This talk will echoe with GRAU’s previous exhibition on the Garden Metropolis (or the “Métropole Jardin”, in French) at arc enrêve, a center for architecture located in Bordeaux, France. The exhibition explored the concept of Garden Metropolis in four cities: Bordeaux, Phoenix, Brussels and Chicago—very different cities that nevertheless have points and concerns in common. Exposing new urban collective organizations as well as the challenges faced by society in their making, Eliasson and Jammes will question the notions of “collective meaning” in cities.

About Susanne Eliasson and Anthony Jammes

Susanne and Anthony’s work embodies a strong focus on the notion of housing as “both intimate and connected, encompassing a range of issues, both large and small”. Graduates of the Ecole Supérieure d’Architecture of Versailles, they have worked on projects such as the Greater Paris study or the new Chapelle Internationale district, until the foudation of GRAU, their agency (2010). Since then, GRAU (Good Reasons to Afford Urbanism) has conducted a number of urban renewal studies on residential areas from the 1950, 1960s and 1970s, and various research on the potential of garden cities.