An overview of the projects and the main publications and exhibitions, organized by year
1945
Projects:
– Panel Chains
1946
Projects:
– Movable Boxes
1950
Publications:
– ‘Yona Friedman et Renzo Voghera’, Architecture d’ Aujourd’hui, Paris
1953
Projects:
– Cylindrical Shelters, 1953- 1958
1956
Projects:
– Manifesto Architecture Mobile
– Studies for Mobile Architecture
– Trihedral system
– Curved Panel
1957
Publications:
– L’ Architecture Mobile, private cyclostyled edition
– ‘L’ Architecture Mobile’, Bauwelt, Berlin
Projects:
– Ville du Bois de Boulogne
– Span Over Blocks, 1957- 1958
1958
Publications:
– L’ Architecture Mobile, Paris
Projects:
– Early models Ville Spatiale, 1958- 1962
– Ville Spatiale, visualization of the principles, 1958- 2006
– Ville Spatiale, scale of the concept, 1958- 1962, fantasies on complexity
– Cabins for the Sahara
– Stacked Concrete Boxes
1959
Projects:
– Paris Spatiale
– Venice of Monaco
– Tunis
– Spatial settlements
– African Projects
Public Events:
– Ville Spatiale, ELC, Paris (France), 1959- 1960
1960
Publications:
– L’ Architecture Mobile. 10 principes d’urbanisme spatiale, an addition to the manifesto published in 1958, Paris
– ‘Paris Spatial’, Revue Technique du Bâtiment, Paris
– ‘Pour un architecture mobile’, Revue Technique du Bâtiment, 3 editions, Paris
Public Events:
– Spatial Champs Elysées, competition entry Tunis
– GEAM (Groupe d’Études d’Architecture Mobile) exhibitions and conferences in Paris (France), Luxemburg, Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Gelsenkirchen (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland)
1962
Publications:
– ‘Paris Spatiale’, Architecture d’ Aujourd’hui, Paris
Projects:
– Villes Ponts
Public Events:
– Grand Prix – Leone di S. Marco Award for Best Short Film at the 13th International Festival of Documentary and Short Films, 23rd International Venice Film Festival, for Annalya Tou Bari, one of the Animated Cartoons made in 1960, Venice, Italy
1963
Publications:
– ‘ A community to span the Channel’, The Guardian, London
Projects:
– Bridge Town over the Channel
Public Events:
– Art Narrative, exhibition Paris (solo)
– Grand Prix de Recherches et Formes de Demain the Association Recherches et Formes de Demain, Paris, France
1964
Publications:
– First version of Pour une architecture scientifique
Projects:
– American projects
– Urban voids, 1964, 1970, 2006
Public Events:
– Architecture without architects, MoMa, New York
1966
Public Events:
– Une ville spatiale, Galerie J, Paris (solo)
1967
Projects:
– Flatwriter
Public Events:
– Competition entry Parliament House, Dar es Salaam
1968
Publications:
– La planification urbaine, Brussels
– Les mécanismes urbains, Brussels
Projects:
– Interior Apartment, from 1968, using his appartment as his studio, Friedman created a very special interior.
1969
Projects:
– Umbrella for Les Halles
1970
Publications:
– L’ Architecture Mobile, vers une cite conçue par ses habitants, Tournai- Paris
Projects:
– Space Chains
– Bamboo constructions,
– Ville Spatiale Nice,
– Variations on a façade with no structure
Public Events:
– Competition entry for the Beaubourg project (Centre Pompidou), Paris
– Space- chain structure, World Expo, Osaka
1972
Publications:
– Pour une architecture scientifique, Paris
– Société = Environnement, Brussels
Public Events:
– Architecture Prize for his whole oeuvre, Academy of Arts and Science, Berlin
1973
Publications:
– Poor World and Critical Group- Size, two essays
– I want to design my home, Paris
– Hacia una arquitectura cientifica, Madrid
Projects:
– Manuals
– Urban Mechanisms 1963, 1966, 1972
1974
Publications:
– Comment vivre entre les autres sans être ensclave et sans être chef, Paris
– Meine Fibel: wie die Stadtbewohner ihre Häuser und ihre Städte selber planen können, Düsseldorf
– Gruppen, Netzwerke, Stuttgart
– ‘Urban Carpet’, Architectural Design, London
Projects:
– Commissioned to design office building for Centre Administratif, CDC Dubonnet Byrrh, Ivry
– Pictographic Art, text written in in ideograms to be understood through all languages.
1975
Publications:
– Pictogrammes de la genèse , Paris
– Une utopie réalisée, Paris
– Self- Supporting Society as a Response to Poverty
– Toward a scientific architecture, Cambridge
– Votre ville est à vous, sachez comment la conserver, Paris
– It is your town – know how to protect it, Paris
Projects:
– Art in the street, ‘wall paper’to embellish the city.
Public Events:
– Une Utopie réalisable (Achievable Utopias), Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (solo)
– Urban Carpet, demonstration, Paris
– An anthropomorphic theory of science, lecture General Assembly of French Computer Research Association
– Une Utopie réalisable, exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Brasilia (solo)
1976
Publications:
– Habitat= Ford + Roof and How to settle Earth, How to Live on Earth, manual, Paris
– Comment habiter la terre = How to settle on earth, Paris, Vancouver
– Utopies réalisables, Union générale d’éditions, Paris
Public Events:
– Honorary Fellowship of Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague
– Participation Habitat Conference, Vancouver
1977
Publications:
– No- Cost Housing, Paris
– Self- Design Institute, Paris
– SurvivaI Techniques, Paris
– Où commence la ville?, Paris
– The Quaternary Sector, analysis of and proposal on the status and division of labor in society
– Utopías realizables, Barcelona
1978
Publications:
– L’Architecture de survie, où s’invente aujourd’hui le monde de demain, Tournai- Paris
– L’ Architecture de survie. Une philosophie de pauvreté, Tournai- Paris
Projects:
– Lycée David d’Angers, 1978- 1981
1979
Publications:
– La région, qu’est ce que c’est?, Paris
Projects:
– Green Architecture
1980
Publications:
– Des villes pour vivre, Strasbourg
– A better life in towns, Strasbourg
– About critical group size, Tokyo
– Popular Encyclopaedia for Survival, Immediate Education for Survival, India
Projects:
– Truths, 1980- 2000: large posters with images and philosophical statements.
– Belapur
1982
Publications:
– Alternatives énergétiques ou la civilization paysanne modernisée. Pour une réelle économie des resources, comment désindustrialiser l’énergie, Saint- Jean- de- Braye
– Alternatives Énergétiques. Plaidoyer pour une autosuffisance locale, Saint- Jean- de- Braye
Projects:
– Domes
– Museum of Simple Technology
Public Events:
– Museum of simple technology, Madras (India)
– Competition entry for the Opera House, Paris, France
– Competition entry for Tête Défense, Paris, France
1983
Publications:
– Two manuscripts: La revolution silencieuse and La nouvelle physiocratie
1984
Publications:
– Continent Ocean and Bateau Terre, manuals, Paris
– The Hope of Africa, manual, Paris
– Community participation in the construction of educational buildings, Paris
1986
Public Events:
– Extension to the Bronx Museum, New York
– Vision der Moderne, exhibition at Deutsches Architektur Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
Publication:
– Environment and Self Reliance, with Eda Schaur, New Delhi, India (sd, this year or before)
1988
Projects:
– Passerelle de Musée, proposition for the use of a bridge for museum space in Paris
– Green Church, a project for a green space
– Museum without Doors, a project for a exhibition shelter
Public Events:
– Collection FRAC, Orléans
1989
Projects:
– Bicentennial French Revolution
Public Events:
– Pavilion of Simple Hydrotechnology, with Eda Schaur, La Villette Science Museum, Paris
– Competition entry Tokyo International Forum, with Eda Schaur, Tokyo
– Competition entry National Theater, with Eda Schaur, Budapest
1990
Projects:
– Tel Aviv Peace Bridge
– Administrative Centre EU
– Hill of the Faiths, grouped sanctuaries for different faiths.
– Teatro Piranesi, a fantasy
– Emballage chocolat, models of packaging materials
– Lamellar Structures, from 1990
– Cylindrical Towers
– Cardtravel Boxes, 1990- 2000
– MoMa
Public Events:
– Competition entry city centre of Samarkand
– Competition entry Maison du Japon, Paris
– Entry on teaching low- cost building techniques with ‘Picture Scripts’, International Research and Development Center (IRDC), Ottawa, Canada
1991
Publications:
– Roofs 1 and Roofs 2. Local materials, simple technology, sophisticated ideas, Paris
Projects:
– Chairs
Public Events:
– Roofs for People, design competition, with Eda Schaur, Osaka
– Prime Minister’s Prize for Roofs for People, Osaka lnternational Design Competition, with Eda Schaur,
– Habitat Scroll of Honour for a life’s work from United Nations
1992
Projects:
– Le Train
– Macaroni
– Protein Structures, 1992, 2000
– Crumpled Sheets, 1992- 1996
– 2 walls + 1 roof
Public Events:
– Hill of the Winds, competitionentry, Japan
– A Continent City, lecture European Union, Schwerin
1994
Publications:
– L’ Univers erratique. Et si les lois de la nature ne suivaient aucune loi?, Paris
– Capitalisme social, essay about minimum wage for all citizens
– Théorie et images, Paris
Projects:
– Continent City
– Amorphous Architecture, 1994, 2009
1995
Publications:
– Environment and self- reliance, Paris
Projects:
– Gribouilli, 1995- 2005
1996
Public Events:
– The Labyrinth, competition entry, Nagasaki
1997
Public Events:
– Tall Building Aesthetics, lecture at a conference on high- rise buildings, London
– Function follows Form, lecture at the Art Critic’s Convention, London
1999
Publications:
Yona Friedman. Structures Serving the Unpredictable, Rotterdam
Projects:
– Musée 21 Century, proposal for a museum for future use
Public Events:
– Structures Serving the Unpredictable, Netherlands Architecture lnstitute (NAi), Rotterdam, Netherlands (solo)
2000
Publications:
– Utopies Réalisables, revised edition, Paris
Projects:
– Various models, models with different materials and purposes.
– Museum Modern Art Bruxelles, expanding the cultural space on the roof of a building
– Merz Structures, from 2000, playful compositions made of various materials
– Moebian Structures
– Irregular tensegrity, 2000- 2005
– Photomontage with Balkis in Paris
Public Events:
– Competition entry with Milano Pyramid, landmark for the centre of Milan
– Théorie et Images or Architecture Mobile, Paris (solo)
2001
Projects:
– Mosquito Net
Public Events:
– Ville Spatiale, Yokohama Triennal
– The Short Century. Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994, Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany / Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany / MoMa PS1, New York, USA / Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
2002
Publications:
– The trompe- l’oeil universe, Kitakyushu
Projects:
– Huangpu River Centre Shanghai, 2002- 2007
Public Events:
– Entry Documenta XI, Kassel
– Urban Creation, Shanghai Biennale
2003
Publications:
– L’architecture de survie. Une philosophie de la pauvreté, Paris
– Utopies Réalisables, Paris
Projects:
– Project Berlin
– Utopia Station, poster project for the Biennale in Venice (Italy)
– Venise Collages, fantasy figures in the town of Venice
– Ville Spatiale deco, 2003, 2004
Public Events:
– Un- built Cities, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn
– Micro Utopias, Biennale Valencia
– Rubbish is beautiful, and Utopia Station, Biennal Venice
2004
Publications:
– Vous avez un chien: c’est lui qui vous a choisi(e) / Yona Friedman and Balkis Berger- Doberman, Paris
Projects:
– Gribouillis London, postcards of London with scribbles
– Musée de Rue, study
– Paris Olympic, proposal for a stadium in the street
– Ville Spatiale Milan Stadium
– Vienna Ville Spatiale
Public Events:
– Scribbles / (Gribouillis), Serpentine Gallery, London
– Une ville spatiale, Aedes East Extension Pavillon, Berlin (solo)
– Nuit Blanche, Paris
– Archiskulptur, Basel
– Optimism of Utopia. In medio stat virtus, Florence
2005
Publications:
– Cities, Kitakyushu
Projects:
– Venice Projects, from 2000
Public Events:
– Yona Friedman, CCA, Kitakyushu (solo)
– Yona Friedman, Fondazione Bevilaqua La Masa, Venice (solo)
– ‘Historical Dimensions and Contemporary Potential’, Symposium Merzbau, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich
2006
Publications:
– Yona Friedman. Pro Domo, Barcelona
Projects:
– Merz Principle, theme description
– Merz Structures Zurich, studies for a project at Cabaret Voltaire
– Licornes, “The unicorns, always real friends of mine.”
– Île Sequin, embellishment of an island in the Seine with a ‘nazcagram’
– Iconostase, from 2006
– Musée des Graffitis, study
– Iconostase, from 2006
Public Events:
– Merzstructures, from Merzbau to Merzstadt and Merzwelt, conference topic, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich
– Dis- assembly, Serpentine Gallery, London
– Project for MART, Rovereto
– Utopias Realizadas, Caac, Sevilla (solo)
– On mobility, De Appel, Amsterdam
– What is positive? Why?, WUK, Vienna
– Haus der Kunst. As long as it lasts, speech, Munich
2007
Publications:
– Manuals. Volume I, Paris
– Manuals. Volume II, Paris
Projects:
– Ville Pont Marseille
Public Events:
– Yona Friedman: une production récente, MAC, Lyon (solo)
– Utopia Realizable, Bund 18, Shanghai (solo)
– Dare to make your own exhibition, CNEAI, Chatou (solo)
– Sueño de casa propia, Casa Encendida, Madrid (solo)
– About Cities, Drawing Centre, New York
2008
Publications:
– Manuals. Volume III, Paris
– L’ordre compliqué et autres fragments, Paris
Projects:
– Balkis Island, a poetic fantasy on a an island near the North Pole, a satellite town of Paris
– Museum of Afghan Civilization, a virtual museum to preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan
– Brescia
Public Events:
– Tu ferais ta ville, CAPC, Bordeaux (solo)
– Manifesto Marathon Serpentine Gallery, London
– 1 Architecte, 1 Bâtiment, conference, concept of the ‘Bridge Town’ over the river Huangpu in Shanghai, Paris
– Les ponts de Shanghai, MBA, Bordeaux (solo)
– Street- Museum, Como
– Sueño de casa propia, Casa del Lago, Mexico City / VIMCORSA, Córdoba (solo)
– Peripheral vision and collective, Museion, Bolzano
– Old Masters, P74 Centre and Gallery, Ljubljana
– Ambition d’art, IAC, Villeurbanne
– Ausstellung nr. 152, Yona Friedman, Portikus, Frankfurt (solo)
– Sphères, Prototype improvisé, Galleria Continua, Boissy- le- Châtel
2009
Publications:
– Etc. Balkis Island, Île de Vassivière, Milan
– Le petit bestiaire, Paris
– Films d’animation 1960- 1963, dvd, Chatou
Projects:
– Meubles plus
– Villacoublay, embellishment of Villacoublay
Public Events:
– Graffiti Museum, Jardin Lilolila, Paris
– Part 1: Autour de la Ville Spatiale: 1957- 1975, kamel menour, Paris (solo)
– Part 2: Maquettes d’études’, studies for the Shanghai Bridges, Paris (solo)
– A streetproject, Los Angeles
– Projections constructives, Vélizy- Villacoublay
– Etc. Balkis Island, with Jean- Baptiste Décavèle, CAP, Île de Vassivière
– Licorne Eiffel, with Jean- Baptiste Decavèle, CAP, Île de Vassivière
– Modernism as a ruin, an archaeology of the present, Generali Foundation, Vienna
– Improvisations, ARC, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris et CNEAI, Paris
– Xanadu, an imaginary city, ABC (Art Berlin Contemporary), Berlin, kamelmenour, Paris
– Ville Spatiale. Visualization of an idea, at Fare Mondi, Venice Biennale
– La Création, Synagogue- centre d’art contemporain, Delme (solo)
– Cartoline Postali, Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia (solo)
2010
Publications:
– Yona Friedman. Drawings & Models 1945- 2010, Paris
– Balkis Productions, website with interviews and slide shows, Paris
Projects:
– Binckhorst, The Hague
Public Events:
– Merz Tier, exhibition ‘Berlin- Paris’, kamel mennour, Paris, France and neugerriemschneider, Berlin (solo)
– Up to you, Stroom, The Hague
– Des utopies réalisées, Espace de l’Art Concret, Mouans- Sartoux (solo)
– Yona Friedman – La città più moderna del mondo, Sale Docks, Venice (solo)
– Spatial City: An Architecture of Idealism, Inova Milwaukee / Hyde Park Art Centre, Chicago / MOCAD, Detroit
– Space chain structure, Art Unlimited, gallery kamel mennour, Art 43 Basel, Basel
– EURO-CITY, Yona Friedman and Rajan V. Ritoe (NL), A trans Pavilion, Berlin
– Yona Friedman: Around the Ville Spatiale, Mala galerije, Ljubljana (solo)
– Métropole Europe et autres projets, gallery kamel mennour, Paris
– The Architecture of Survival. Learning from Yona Friedman, Symposium in Buda- Pest
– Yona Friedman’s video animation Guide Book for Visitors from Outer Space, Hangar Bicocca, Milano
2011
Public Events:
– Architecture without buildings, Biennale de Lyon (solo)
– Métropole Europe et autres projets, MUSAC, Léon (solo)
– Merz World: Yona Friedman and Thomas Saraceno, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich
– Une ville spatiale pour artistes, Hangar Bicocca, Milano
– ‘Gribouillis’ at A l’école. L’art pour grandir, exhibition and workshops, Paris
– …&, iconostases 25 i.s., with Jean- Baptiste Decavèle, Galerie Anne Barrault, Paris, France (solo)
– Yona Friedman und Eckhard Schulze- Fielitz, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz
– video conference at architecture [in] ]out[ politics, The Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Lisbon, Portugal
2012
Publications:
– Orazi, Manuel, ‘A Conversation with Yona Friedman’, Log, nr 26, New York
– Architecture without buildings, Chatou
Public Events:
– Musée sans bâtiment and Architecture without building, CNEAI, Chatou
– Architecture without building, with Jean- Baptiste Decavèle, De Vleeshal, Middelburg
– Entry by Yona Friedman, installation curated by Maurizio Bortolotti at the Istanbul Design Biennal, Istanbul, Turkey
– Le musée de Rue et le musée Iconostase + Architectures Mobiles, CNEAI, Chatou