The ‘Autonomous Detail’: An Attempt to Subvert the Neoliberal City

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Published: May 12, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/clara.011.0040

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Margaux Darrieus
ENSA Paris-Malaquais

Abstract

In what way can an angled downspout, which presents itself as an anomaly in the French generic city where it is introduced, provide us with knowledge about what is at stake in that context for the architects? This contribution is based on an investigation into the design, development and implementation of the details of 18 social housing units delivered in 2022 by Barrault Pressacco architects in Raincy (Seine-Saint-Denis, France). It addresses the socio-technical conditions, as well as the ethical and aesthetic ambitions of these assemblies, from the point of view of their designers. The study will establish that the specification of “autonomous details” (Ford, 2011), whose symbolic value is combined with their technical function, and the way in which other actors are or are not involved in their development, can be understood as a way for the designers to preserve some agency in the project, in an economy of construction that is stingy in essence, and in an ecological condition that values economy of means thus equating any form of decoration with sinful overconsumption.


Photo: 18 logements sociaux, Le Raincy, livrés en 2022, Barrault Pressacco architectes. Photographie commandée par les architectes. © Giaime Meloni, 2022.

Article Details

Issue
No. 11 (2025): The Ethics of Detailing
Section
Thematic section
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Author Biography

Margaux Darrieus, ENSA Paris-Malaquais

Docteure en architecture, Margaux Darrieus est maîtresse de conférences à l’ENSA Paris-Malaquais, membre du laboratoire ACS et journaliste pour des revues spécialisées en architecture. C’est dans ces multiples lieux, en divers formats (articles, enquêtes, enseignement, commissariat d’exposition) et en mobilisant les sciences humaines et sociales qu’elle interroge les manières d’être et de faire des architectes en prise avec les enjeux socio-environnementaux contemporains, considérant la production de l’espace comme une pratique collective à l’intérieur de laquelle iels doivent déployer des stratégies pour exister et faire exister leurs projets. Sa recherche sur les détails de construction contemporains bénéficie du soutien de la plateforme FAIRE du Pavillon de l’Arsenal.