Inside Outside
Agora 2014 Espace Public
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/agora-2014-espace-public_0-375x221.jpg)
The project
This design for the exhibition Espace Public was on show during the Agora architecture biennale 2014 in Bordeaux. It positions the organised western world opposite the unpredictable non-western city. The exhibition hall, a large old transport depot on the Gironde with two floors, creates a clear separation between the formal and informal city. The ground floor symbolises the formal city, the first floor celebrates (with movie showings, lectures and catering) the informal city. A shining white curtain 247 metres in length and 4 metres high separates the intimate and public space.
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/agora-2014-espace-public_1-375x221.jpg)
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/agora-2014-espace-public_2-375x221.jpg)
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/agora-2014-espace-public_3-375x221.jpg)
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/agora-2014-espace-public_4-375x221.jpg)
Committee
With this exhibition, Agora creates a new aesthetic for biennales, in a style that is strong in its simplicity. With limited means (often recycled, affordable and accessible materials) and in a tight time frame a presentation with impact was achieved. Its pragmatic design feels very Dutch.