Architecture Symposium to Focus on Evolution of Firminy Church

Columbus, OH—Bringing together prominent architectural historians, critics, and architects from the U.S. and Europe, the Wexner Center presents a daylong symposium on the Eglise Saint-Pierre in Firminy, France, designed by Le Corbusier in the 1960s and completed in 2006 under the direction of his former protégé, José Oubrerie (now on the faculty at The Ohio State University). The symposium, to be held Friday, January 26 at the Wexner Center, will explore the historical and contemporary implications of this remarkable church. Cosponsored by The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture, this event is free; no registration is required.

The symposium is being held in conjunction with Architecture Interruptus, an exhibition on view in the Wexner Center Galleries January 26–April 15 that documents the evolution and completion of the church through drawings, photographs, and a commissioned model.

The Architecture Interruptus Symposium schedule:

WELCOME AND REMARKS | 10 AM Sherri Geldin, director, Wexner Center for the Arts Megan Cavanaugh Novak, curator of Architecture Interruptus

SESSION ONE | 10:30 AM–12:30 PM Historical Implications of Le Corbusier/Oubrerie's Firminy Project The completion of the Firminy church more than 45 years after its commission asks architects and theorists to grapple with their understanding of a project so long in the making and created by two distinct authors. This session looks back on Le Corbusier's oeuvre through the lens of this final project that he could not complete alone.

Speakers Barry Bergdoll, professor and chair, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University Wolf D. Prix, architect, Coop Himmelb(l)au, professor of Architecture, University of Applied Arts, Vienna Stanislaus von Moos, professor, Department of Art History, University of Zurich

Moderator Aron Vinegar, assistant professor, OSU’s Department of History of Art and Knowlton School of Architecture

SESSION TWO | 2–4 PM Contemporary Implications of Le Corbusier/Oubrerie's Firminy Project The church in Firminy, despite its midcentury roots, is refreshingly current. This is due not only to its recent completion but also to the revisions and additions to the project by José Oubrerie. This session highlights the reverberating effects of the church's completion on a new generation of architects working today.

Speakers Caroline Bos, architect, UN Studio Scott Cohen, architect and professor, Department of Architecture, Harvard University Aaron Betsky, director, Cincinnati Art Museum

Moderator Jeffrey Kipnis, professor, Knowlton School of Architecture, The Ohio State University

RECEPTION FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS | 4–5:30 PM