Living Architectures: An immersion into the Heart of the CytoMorpho Lab’s work at the Musée d’Orsay

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Musée d’Orsay, ESPCI Paris – PSL, the CNRS, and the CEA have joined forces to present an exceptional artistic and scientific event. “Living Architectures,” an immersive evening event presented on January 24 and 25, 2026, in the museum’s main hall, offers the public a spectacular journey into the heart of the dynamics of life, based on research conducted by the CytoMorpho Lab, a research team based at the School.

Conceived as a unique dialogue between art, science, and architecture, *A Few Seconds of Eternity: Living Architectures* transforms the main hall of the Musée d’Orsay into a vast theater of life. Through a monumental video-mapping installation, images drawn from recent experiments in cell biology are projected on a scale that matches the architecture of the space. Filaments, cytoskeletal networks, and cellular structures resonate with the glass roof and the spaces of the former train station, literally bringing the building to life.

At the heart of this project is the work of the CytoMorpho Lab, led by Manuel Théry, an ESPCI graduate and researcher in biology and biophysics. The projected images are the result of more than a thousand hours of experiments conducted by researchers at the CytoMorpho Lab, including Léa Blanc, a doctoral student at ESPCI Paris – PSL. This research explores the principles of self-organization and transformation in cellular architectures, revealing the plasticity, fragility, and robustness of living organisms.

Conceived from the outset as a research-creation project, the evening brings together scientists, artists, and musicians. Frédérique Aït-Touati serves as artistic director and stage director, while the original music, performed live by the Traffic Quintet and its guests, is conducted by Solrey. Actress Judith Chemla guides the audience on this journey across different scales, embodying a “traveling cell” that leads viewers through matter and time.

By juxtaposing biological architectures with stone architectures, Living Architectures explores our relationship to time, transformation, and transmission. The project is fully in line with the Musée d’Orsay’s interdisciplinary mission and illustrates ESPCI Paris – PSL’s commitment to projects at the intersection of science, the arts, and innovation, projects capable of raising public awareness of contemporary issues in life sciences research.

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