In the Côtes-d’Armor region, the elected representatives and residents of Saint-Thélo wanted to accompany the opening in 2004 of the Maison des Toiles (a space dedicated to the manufacture of linen fabrics) with a redevelopment of the entire village.
Seeking to create economic and cultural momentum, the village called on the Fondation de France’s New Patrons program. Its deputy mediator, Eternal Network, proposed bringing in Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata. Kawamata, mindful of the commission to remember a buried past and bring added value to the village surroundings, focused his attention on three weavers’ houses that were destined to disappear.
Tadashi Kawamata undertook the rehabilitation of this architectural ensemble in the form of a collective project. For three consecutive summers, French and foreign art and architecture students, as well as carpenters, worked together on this project as part of a workshop. The belvedere and footbridge synthesise the various studies developed during the first workshop by the students and the artist.
A series of passageways, staircases, openings and landscaping around the houses were built as the work progressed, amplifying the interconnection between indoor and outdoor spaces. The belvedere consists of four wooden modules, echoing the generic design of a loom. The footbridge connecting the exterior to the belvedere invites visitors to walk through the work. From the appearance of the bell tower to the opening onto the landscape, it fulfils the metaphorical function of Mémoire en demeure. Mémoire en demeure mobilises the memory of the place in a dynamic perspective and now constitutes a new memory, formed by all the moments of shared life and work.
