What is a Folie?

In the lectures and readings a Folie has been described as an "activator of space." That means, something that causes interaction within the site rather than just a piece of sculpture that offers no more to the site than its existence.

We were told that there were many Folies in La Parc de la Villette in Paris and that the Folies here had become as iconic to that place as Phoneboxes were to London.

People within Parc de la Villette use this folies as a way of navigating through the parc and are often also used a reference point for meetings. They have been designed to be in a "vacuum" where they hold no relationship to the site at all but are a self standing piece of architecture.

This has led me to think about what activities or experiences I can introduce to the site through my Folie design.