Catene de containers

Throughout his work, Vincent Ganivet uses bricks and breeze blocks to form arches and structures that grow ever more complex, to the point of defying the laws of gravity.

Most of the time they hold in balance thanks to a mathematical process used in architecture in particular and revealed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí: the “catenary technique” or “catenary arch”. By observing the hanging shape of a chain held at both ends and reproducing that shape upside down, the forces and tensions at work make it possible to build an arch that stands on its own, without any buttress.

Catene de containers weighs nearly 288 tonnes in total, and its highest point reaches 28.5 metres. The title, borrowed from the Latin word “catena”, also means “chain”. It is a nod to the technique used, inspired by Antoni Gaudí, but also to the use of containers in the “logistics chain”.

This work received the support of Vinci Construction and its subsidiary GTM Normandie Centre.