Forms of living
Reconversion d’une remise en habitation, Neuchâtel © frundgallina architectes
Jean-Claude Frund, partner at frundgallina architectes in Neuchâtel, was invited by Prof. Emmanuel Rey’s studio at the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) to talk about his work as an architect through a selection of projects. Entitled "Formes d’habiter", his lecture gave students the opportunity to discover a variety of housing projects in different contexts and scales.
Jean-Claude Frund is an architect who graduated from in 1994. In 2000, together with his partner Antonio Gallina, he founded frundgallina architectes in Neuchâtel. Their projects, rich and varied in terms of program and scale, range from major public spaces to single-family homes. The office attaches great importance to the urban and architectural quality of their interventions in built and landscaped environments. Through careful analysis of the context, construction using natural and local materials and meticulous execution, frundgallina's practice focuses on the quality of spaces for occupants.
The lecture highlighted these motivations through no less than seven housing projects organized around specific themes. Firstly, the “reconstruction” of a chalet on the Jura crests; secondly, the “utilization” of the Cadolles park in Neuchâtel for the construction of 149 apartments and a crèche; then the “extension” of a detached house in Cortaillod, followed by the “appropriation” of a site in Auvernier by 10 apartments, a crèche and a community hall, the “reconversion” of a shed into housing in Neuchâtel, the “densification” in Carouge of a former housing estate by subsidized apartment blocks and finally a single-story “dwelling” on the outskirts of Gletterens.
Resonating with the issues addressed in the studio RELIEFS URBAINS, the conference allowed students to put into perspective the didactic approach, from the urban project to the construction detail as a relevant process for the transformation of urban territories in transition.
