Pedagogy in Built Form: A Diachronic Reading of the UPAT

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

A well-defined case study from a historical perspective. A well-referenced article, with particularly interesting graphics explaining the logic behind the project, which is presented as emblematic of this type of production in the 1960s and 1970s.
The decision to trace the history of the project over the longue durée is particularly welcome. Nevertheless, recent history and the transformations that the complex has undergone are addressed solely from an architectural perspective. It would be useful to mention the delayed reception, as well as the problematic context surrounding the recognition of architecture in the second half of the 20th century. The work of Gérard Monnier or Richard Klein could be helpful in this regard.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and constructive comments, which have been carefully addressed in the revised manuscript.

Following your suggestions, the transformations of the school are now more clearly contextualized beyond a strictly architectural reading focused on the building’s formal evolution. The discussion has been broadened to engage with wider debates on the reception of postwar university campuses and, more generally, on the delayed and often problematic recognition of late-modern architecture as heritage. Several references have been added in this regard ([52–57]), including work by Gérard Monnier and Richard Klein, as well as Maristella Casciato’s reflections on the contradictory status of modern architecture and the role of “transformation” in its preservation. I hope these additions clarify the cultural stakes surrounding the history of the UPAT and strengthen the overall contribution of the article.

Thanks again,

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Good research and very interresting analysis of the geometrical composition.

This approach could be enlarged to many other CJW projects (cf. other French recent sources, notably on Leucate-Barcares / see Docomomo 17, p.257).

The link with Le Mirail University could be better established (see Changer les bâtiments pour changer l’enseignement. Le projet de l’université Toulouse Le Mirail dans les années 1960)

It is nevertheless a very sad story, for UPAT but also for Le Mirail. At least, history will preserve their architectural memory.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your interest in the research and your insightful comments. Following your suggestion, the connection with the project of Le Mirail University has been reinforced through the inclusion of an explicit reference to Pauline Collet’s work (Changer les bâtiments pour changer l’enseignement). The discussion of the Barcarès–Leucate project has also been updated with a more recent reference in the bibliography.