Villette Makerz - Takeopiv

Villette Makerz

I moved

The Canal Saint-Martin flows northwards, detaching itself from the Seine.
I live in a neighborhood where there is a row of small boats in this area.

This canal runs underground at the level of the place where the Bastille prison used to be.
It’s pitch-dark and the sailors have to keep their heads down, but it reappears above ground just past the Place de la République.

Around Jaurès station, the small canal becomes a full-fledged canal some twenty meters wide.
Before Jaurès, the canal slopes steeply.
The canal is equipped with an elevator that raises the water level on the steps when there is an upward slope, and the landscape is fascinating to observe.
As a member of the Mazinger Z generation, I remember the scene where the robot emerges from the pool water and the cockpit merges with the head.
When the Seine flows into the Atlantic, similar equipment is used to bring the water level down to sea level.

The atmosphere along the river is very elegant, with large boats at anchor.
There are cinemas on either side of the river, and the view of the boats coming and going between the two cinemas gives a relaxed feel.

A little further on, where the canal branches off to the east and west, you’ll see the redevelopment zone known as La Villette.
To the west is the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, while to the east are large and small concert halls, theaters and a design studio.

Surrounded by a large forest and park, it’s the largest cultural complex in France.

We’ve moved into the Villette Makerz, a FabLab and co-working space.
FabLabs are the latest craze, laboratories where expensive equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters are open to the public and available to everyone.
At weekends, the place is particularly lively, with children invited to take part in various workshops.

On the first and second floors, there are workspaces for residencies and equipment spaces, which have become my new studio.

There are around four large semi-private and semi-public facilities of this type in Paris.
Each has its own specialty, be it IT, start-ups or crafts.
This Makerz is a fusion of digital and craft.
The residencies are equally diverse: graphic designers, architects, sculptors and craftsmen.

What’s interesting here is that the resident artists and the Makerz team who run the weekend and evening workshops work together.
Sometimes the resident is an instructor in a workshop, sometimes the resident organizes drawing or creation classes, and so on.

My room, adjacent to a large kitchen,
It’s a very tasty kitchen, with someone cooking every day and the smell of pastries in the afternoon.

I cycle along the canal for about 30 minutes each way.
The landscape along the canal is very picturesque and perhaps because of this, there are lots of joggers and a beautiful emotion in the air.

I’m happy to work with that emotion and the forest air!

PS: The little boat in this photo was carrying people enjoying cheese and ham in the cold.

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緑多き新天地で、創造的で豊かな時間を過ごされますように!キッチンからの甘い誘惑にはご注意を〜

ありがとうございます!
そうですね、キッチンからの甘い誘惑は魔物ですね

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