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Philippe Rahm architectes

Paris, France

Website

Philippe Rahm (born in 1967) is a swiss architect (M.Arch EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 1993 and Ph.D University of Paris-Saclay in 2019), principal in the office of “Philippe Rahm architectes”, based in Paris, France. In 2002, Mr. Rahm was chosen to represent Switzerland at the 8th Architecture Biennale in Venice. His recent work includes the first prize for a masterplan of 62 hectares new district at the Farini competition in Milan in 2019, the First Prize in 2011 for the 70 hectares Taichung Gateway Park (Jade Eco Park / Central Park) in Taiwan, completed in 2020, the First Prize for the 1800 m2 Agora of the French National Radio in Paris. He has received the Silver Medal of the French Academy of Architecture in 2019 and was made a knight of the Order of Cultural Merit of Monaco in 2017. He has held professorships at the at Princeton University (2010-2012), Harvard University (2014-2016), Cornell University (2018-2020), Columbia University (2016 and 2023). In 2020, he is the curator and author of the exhibition and book “Natural History of Architecture” at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal in Paris. “Climatic architecture”, a monographic book is published by Actar for Fall 2023.

CAB 5 Contribution

Project Overview

Domestic Astronomy

Domestic Astronomy is a prototype for an apartment where it is no  longer a surface but an atmosphere that is occupied. Its functions and  furniture leave the floor and rise; they diffuse and evaporate into the  atmosphere of the apartment, stabilizing where the temperatures  correspond to certain activities, the body, or clothing. Our concept is  to enable these physical differences in the distribution of temperature  in space and to exploit them by changing lifestyles. We propose  replacing a horizontal lifestyle with a vertical one, where we occupy  different heat zones, different layers, different heights. Thus we  create a global ecosystem similar to an astronomy of the home, where  temperature, light, time, and space are redefined.

CAB 2 Contribution

Project Overview

Thermodynamic Tectonic: The Emissivity Clothing

Philippe Rahm’s Thermodynamic Tectonic: The Emissivity Clothing presents two tapestries of color-saturated material that are optimized to emit heat and cold. The red field has the color properties of warmth and high emissivity, while the purple field retains cool. For Rahm, the objects and people in a room play a relational role in the regulation of climate. He suggests that we might consider the way that materials perform as well as whether they absorb or reflect light, heat, and color as a principle criteria for design.

The City is the Site