REALIZING CHAMBORD, School of the Art Institute of Chicago/Architecture, Interior Architecture and Designed Objects - Summer 2018

Lines, Words, or Numbers: Which Does Utopia Require Most?

With this question, we invited students to enter a reflection on the ultimate future of a historic monument: the Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France and to participate in an exhibition: “Chambord Inachevé”, which will mark the 500th anniversary of its construction, in May 2019.

The Domaine National de Chambord, and the office of Dominique Perrault Architect who curate the exhibit, is inviting eighteen architecture schools, worldwide, to propose a speculative vision for the monument, utilizing the concept of Utopia, which was essential at the time of its development.

An international symposium is organized in the Château with all the invited schools to present their visions. Ours, called Realizing Chambord follows the journey of the château as a vessel, similar to Jason’s mythical ship, The Argo, as they travel through the perpetual loop of a utopian society they

cannot fully command: they try, they succeed, they fail, and they try again.