In nature, there are no problems, only solutions.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
Biography of René Dubos, physician and biologist
René Dubos (1901–1982) was a French physician and biologist who graduated in 1921 from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (AgroParisTech) and pursued his career in the United States, where he earned his doctorate in medicine in 1927. He distinguished himself through his contributions to the development of antibiotics, notably the discovery of gramicidin, the first antibiotic to be commercialized. Toward the end of his life, his research career shifted toward ecology. In 1972, together with Barbara Ward, he prepared the foundational report for the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, entitled Only One Earth.
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
The Maison des industries agricoles et alimentaires was designed by architects Francis Thieulin and Xavier de Vigan. It hosts students from AgroParisTech.
