Discover the projects and career of oceanographer architect Jacques Rougerie in this exhibition installed at the heart of Villa Noailles, in Hyères, until May 12, 2024.
Architect, oceanographer, and member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Jacques Rougerie is recognized worldwide for having imagined and created underwater, marine, and coastal habitats. The man who considers himself « merian » – as opposed to terrestrial – is behind numerous architectural projects, sometimes floating, sometimes submerged, living or research spaces, often inspired by biomimicry. Among these projects, we can cite theArcheoscope designed for the Giens Peninsula in Hyères, the Aquabubbles for the Embiez Islands, the underwater house Galathea for Osaka, or his flagship project, arguably the most famous of all, the SeaOrbiter : International Oceanic Station, akin to the ISS Station.
50 years of passion for the sea
The exhibition installed at the heart of Villa Noailles, in Hyères, traces 50 years of passion of this merian architect from his first constructions imagined in the 1970s to the projects of the 2000s and the famous SeaOrbiter which should soon come to fruition. Projects that continue and are still being born today with Sophie Rougerie and Emmanuel Dujardin and their Rougerie + Tangram Architecture Agency. They are notably behind the creation of the Olympic Marina in Marseille for the 2024 Olympics.
Excerpts from the exhibition © Luc Bertrand
The exhibition highlights many illustrations in the form of comics that evoke adventures often close to science fiction, original drawings from Jacques Rougerie’s personal archives, a beautiful collection of models including one of an underwater village, dreamed by this lover of the underwater world, and, exhibited on the forecourt of Villa Noailles, you can admire theAquabubble, an underwater laboratory that had been submerged in the waters of the region.
Practical information
Exhibition curators: MBL architects.
Exhibition « Living the Sea, Jacques Rougerie », from March 9 to May 12, 2024, Villa Noailles, 47 Montée Noailles.
Open Wednesday to Sunday from 1 PM to 6 PM. Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and holidays.
Free entry.
Guided tours from Wednesday to Sunday at 3 PM without reservations.
opening image © Natacha Fleuret-Brayard