Utopie Plastic

The Friche de l’Escalette in Marseille introduces for the second year in a row Utopie Plastic, a colorful array of plastic bubbles immersed in stone ruins, like a set from Star Trek. The pieces are rare models of futuristic plastic habitat from the late 60s/early 70s, an era that ended after the 1973 oil crisis.

  Three plastic houses –  Hexacube, Bulle, Futuro House – will serve as showcases to present important pieces of designer plastic furniture. The Hexacube (1972) by Georges Candilis and (1913–1995) Anja Blomstedt (b. 1937) is a beach-side colony which delighted generations of holidaymakers before being dismantled. Luckily it was saved form annihilation, and the exemplar on shoe – unique by its colour red – was purchased from a former collaborator of Candilis. The Bulle six coques by French designer Jean-Benjamin Maneval (1923–1986), launched in 1968, another Flower Power-period icon. Two units are part of the exhibition: one is owned by aficionado-restorer Jean-Baptiste Moutte, head of Relax Factory, and it is the only known example complete with its original interior fit-out. The other, which is little more than a shell, is being fully reconditioned and visitors are able to monitor its restoration on-site.

The legendary Futuro House by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen (1933–2013) also hit the scene in ‘68. Sixty copies of this smooth saucer were made and have skimmed all over the planet where they are jealously guarded by their owners – a motley crew of hardliners in touch via the web, who range from a New Zealand surfer to a Californian billionaire collector of architectural masterworks. The exemplar on show at l’Escalette comes from Majorca, where it premiered as a show model and it ended up dumped in a pinewood before being sold off on the net.

until 30 September 2017
Utopie Plastic
Route des Goudes, impasse de l’Escalette
Marseille