France's Economic, Social and Environmental Council, in collaboration with Fondazione Prada, 
presents: 

On view from 27 November 2013 to 19 February 2014, the exhibition « Auguste Perret, Huit 
Chefs d’œuvre !/? – Architectures du béton armé » ("Auguste Perret: Eight Masterpieces!/? – 
Reinforced Concrete Buildings") is organised by the Economic, Social and Environmental 
Council (ESEC) in collaboration with Fondazione Prada at the Palais d'Iéna – ESEC 
headquarters. For this tribute to one of the most inspiring architectural careers of the 20th 
century, Joseph Abram, the scientific curator - together with his team of National School of 
Architecture in Nancy - is responsible for the theoretical and historical coherence of the 
project. The architectural office OMA AMO, under the direction of Rem Koolhaas, the artistic 
curator, is in charge of the exhibition design as well as the contemporary contributions and it 
conceives the cultural events program. 

Son of a stonemason who had taken part in the Paris Commune uprising in 1871, Auguste 
Perret (1874–1954) played a core part in defining a specific aesthetic for reinforced 
concrete. His entire career was devoted to a rigorous practice of architecture based on 
innovative strategies that combined intellect, design and construction into a powerful creative 
mechanism that generated an impressive number of masterpieces. His talent received due 
recognition in 2005 when part of his oeuvre was added to the World Heritage List. 
 
While several exhibitions have been dedicated to Auguste Perret, this exhibition has the 
ambitious goal to share with a wider audience the intimacy of a creative process that is 
amongst the highest in the history of architecture. 
It is only natural that the chosen venue is the Palais d'Iéna, one of Perret's most significant 
projects. Perret invented a new classical order comparable to those of ancient times but 
rooted in modern construction techniques: the reinforced concrete order, with the Palais 
d'Iéna as its finest achievement. 
 
The presentation of this major event at the Palais d'Iéna reflects the ESEC's policy of hosting 
cultural and artistic projects as a stimulus for public dialogue, also promoted by many events 
and debates organized within the institution. A cultural programme will run during the 
exhibition dedicated to Auguste Perret: the Palais will be opening its doors to the public and 
will host talks, debates, workshops, concerts and screenings in the hemicycle. 

PRESS CONTACTS 
 
ESEC 
Heymann, Renoult Associées 
Agnès Renoult & Adeline Suzanne 
+33 (0)1 44 61 76 76 
[email protected] 
 
Fondazione Prada 
Andrea Goffo 
+39 02 54 67 09 81 / +39 33 46 94 46 71 
[email protected] 
 
OMA AMO 
Jeremy Higginbotham 
+31 10 24 38 200 
[email protected]

> via expositionperret.fr