VIVRE SA VILLE

The practice that took two prizes in the 2017 ArchiCOTE competition and is a winner in the 2018 Album des Jeunes Architectes & Paysagistes believes in architecture that ignores fashions.

Why architecture?
Sophie Delage – So as not to be an IT technician like most of my family, and to do something I could be passionate about!
Mathieu Grenier – The question was never posed as I'm from a family of six architects! But they all tried to dissuade me, saying it wasn't an enviable job today, consisting of dreams and fine ideas but mainly tough fights.

Is that why you called the practice Combas?
SD – Partly, but mainly because it's the name of the village that six years ago entrusted us with our first project, a small nursery school on the village square. It reminds us of where we came from.

With Pierre Le Quer you form a trio of complementary skills...
SD – Yes, you have to be different to complement each other. Pierre trained in spatial design before becoming an architect, Mathieu specialised in urban planning and strategy, and I focused on earthquake-resistant construction because I like the technical and structural aspects. We work together on our projects, each on a different scale and with a specific approach so as to contribute individual visions.

Does that explain your two ArchiCOTE 2017 prizes? *
SD – We prefer this complementary approach rather than favouring or advocating any particular technical knowhow. Pierre will exercise his skills on a project like the mountain hut, whereas for something on a larger scale, to do with urban development, such as the 25-apartment block, it will be Mathieu.
MG – Although we each have our own fields, the three of us are all seeking the same thing and motivated by the same objective, summed up in Vitruvius's famous slogan: Firmitas, utilitas, venustas, meaning architecture that delivers structural integrity, utility and beauty.

Timeless architecture, we might say?
SD – We derive our inspiration essentially from the site, its history and its materials. We almost start from architecture without the architect, deliberately vernacular and setting-based. The inspiration for a tower could well be a simple stone wall.

It's that “spirit of place” that determined your Domaine de Beaucastel project in Châteauneuf-du-Pape?
MG – To renovate the wine store we indeed chose to build with Châteauneuf-du-Pape clay so as to produce a building that would transcend its material. We see that as meaningful, a commitment, not just a pretext to work with a nice material.
SD – The historicaI reference pleases us but also the ecological aspect. Using a material available on the spot helps reduce the environmental footprint as there's no transport, likewise incorporating the rubble into the construction rather than removing it.

Environmental impact is an important issue for you?
MG – Yes, but mostly the architect's role as an arbiter in a fast-changing society. We have a part to play in carbon footprints and energy use but we can only do so by creating the right conditions in which to act, i.e. by demonstrating suppleness and agility, not falling into absolute fanatical radicalness in order to effect change. For us that's fundamental and it's what all three of us want for the future.

Par Alexandre Benoist