Jean Hanemian
ARCHITECT AND COMPANY FOUNDER
A passion for totally abstract and limitless creation such as is offered by mathematics drove Jean Hanemian via the poetry of new equations to want to acquire a greater understanding of the universe and of human consciousness. So it was quite natural that he should be drawn towards architecture, the discipline that creates the framework of man’s world and thus has fundamental importance for his life. In 1976 he founded the AIM Hanemian Architects agency. His thoughts about the profession brought him eventually to a new approach, “The Architecture for Awakening”, which is the guiding spirit behind all of his designs. For the last forty years he has ceaselessly dreamed up spaces for living, working, learning, caring, shopping, relaxing.
Jean Hanemian was greatly impressed by man’s first steps on the moon and by Russian research scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky’s observation: “Earth is the cradle of humanity but we don’t spend your entire life in a cradle”. For his architectural diploma he submitted a project for a city on the moon (a submission which was awarded the very high commendation ‘Mention Très Bien’). As part of the preparation for this project he went back to the origins of man’s existence on Earth and adapted them to the lunar context: 300°C difference in temperature between darkness and light, one sixth of the Earth’s force of gravity, low trajectory meteorite storms, weeks lasting 14 days, etc.
If the future in an urban environment was to be embarked upon, thought had to be directed towards the greatest problem for man, moving from one place to another taking into account the force of gravity on Earth. Once again Jean Hanemian went back to the very origins of man’s life on Earth and invented TELEPRAXIE, working at a distance (this in 1972!), which has since been absorbed into telematics. The use he envisaged of telecommunications becoming a key part of work practice has proved to be accurate in our time.
ARCHITECTURE FOR AWAKENING
SEEKING OUT THE ORIGIN OF MANKIND… FINDING THE LINK WITH WHAT FOLLOWS… LEADING MAN “VIA ARCHITECTURE” TOWARDS AWAKENING…
Better understand the origin of the universe to better respect its development and contribute to it.
Try to rediscover what has driven us onward since the origin of time that is passing and remains to pass. Imbue our era with a sense of a link with the future and create exceptional quality for our clients’ projects.
Widen men’s horizon to the planets, the galaxies and the whole cosmos so that they will understand their infinitely minute place in it. As Jean Hanemian wrote in his Manifesto “The Architecture of Awakening”, “the size of men cannot be measured. All men are as big and as great as one another. But to reach their full greatness they have to define right from their origin what is their universe of expression and communication with other human beings”.
Work in close collaboration with the best (architects, engineers, philosophers, researchers, historians) so as to find the best adapted theorem to the project and thus provide the adequate solution.
This respect for humanity and its environment is at the heart of Jean Hanemian and the AIM Hanemian Architects agency designs. Only in doing so can the Agency provide its clients with the best possible answer to their requirements.
A luminous observation by the Nobel Prizewinner for Physics Niels Bohr enlightens all Jean Hanemian and AIM Hanemian Architects agency’s design efforts: “Electricity was not discovered by people improving candles”. Our way of going about things is as follows: candles came into being because of darkness at night; darkness at night is due to the setting of the sun. If the sun’s light were harnessed from beyond the horizon, we would have to find a way of occulting the light of the night and not use artificial light. It would be a fine way to save energy.