Atelier Christian de Portzamparc

Profile of Atelier Christian de Portzamparc, headquartered in France. Nine projects submitted by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc have been published on Architecture News Plus (ANP).

: Christian de Portzamparc – © Nicolas Borel

Principal

Christian de Portzamparc

Brief description

Christian de Portzamparc was born in Casablanca in 1944 and graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1970.

In 1994 Christian de Portzamparc became the first French architect to gain the prestigious “Pritzker Architectural Prize”, at the age of 50.

He is also Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Officier de l’Ordre du Mérite, Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur; Grand Prix d’Architecture de la Ville de Paris 1990 Médaille d’Argent 1992 Grand Prix National d’Architecture 1998, and Honorory fellow of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.)

The most prestigious city planning prize in France: “Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme” was awarded to him 2004.

In 2006, the “Collège de France” created a 53rd chair dedicated to ‘artistic creation’, and called on Christian de Portzamparc to be its first occupant.

He created his agency, the Atelier Christian de Portzamparc, in 1980. Based in Paris, it constructs worldwide and is a cohesive team of 80 people that have positive working relationships with established partners around the world. The work is organized with studio teams, in order to maintain a close familiar work spirit with offices in New-York City and Rio de Janeiro in addition to ‘satellite’ offices situated near construction sites. The Atelier was awarded by American magazine «Fast Company» the «Most innovative company in architecture» prize.

Architect, urban planner and also a painter, Christian de Portzamparc is implicated in the research of form and meaning, as well as being a constructor.

The atelier Christian de Portzamparc focuses on all scales of construction and a wide variety of programs. Each individual project is a new challenge of research and experimentation from the conception design to the construction solutions.

The atelier may be also defined as an urban laboratory; based around in-depth urban and structural analysis developed by C. de Portzamparc since the 70’s through project manifesto, competitions and studies that led to an evolution of methods, allowing a multitude of practical applications to these theoretical research and analysis principals.

Within his renewed vision of urban structure, which he named the “open block”, the work focuses on research and concerns the quality of living spaces and the understanding of the city. From buildings to urban re-think, the town is a founding principal of his work, developing in parallel and in crossover along three major lines: community oriented buildings, towers, and neighborhoods (from the block to the major city developments).

Published projects

: Chateau Cheval Blanc by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc There are some exceptional wines in the world. Cheval Blanc is one of them. When referring to it, people sometimes speak of absolute art. When Baron Frère and...

: Granite Tower by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc An office tower designed for the Société Générale, located in front of the Alicante and Chassagne towers built in 1995. In Nanterre, at the western...

: Rue de la Loi by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc In the centre of Brussels, the Rue de la Loi, although at the heart of the European administration’s quarters, is lacking in any urban dynamic. In 2008, an...

: Musée Hergé by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc An elongated prism floats in the forest while a footbridge connects it to the city. Vast bay windows seem to suggest comic strips spaces, while the prism...

: Hotel Renaissance Arc de Triomphe by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc On the avenue de Wagram, this new hotel is located on the site of the old Empire Theatre and is characterized by the interplay of undulating horizontal glass...

: Rhone Alpes County Hall by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc Regional power is growing stronger, and thus needs to assert its presence, to be symbolized in the urban space. Immediately the building shows its interior...

: La Croix-Rousse Hospital by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc In the French city of Lyon, the Croix-Rousse Hospital is to be extended. Its actual organization has set up a “classical grandeur”. Located at the top of a...

: Galeo by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc Bouygues Real Estate Headquarters: The project is composed of three buildings, it’s an ensemble which while being urban is formed of two contrasting...

: Cidade da Música Roberto Marinho by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc Barra de Tijuca is a new town in Rio de Janeiro’s southern outskirts. It is a long plain that lacks strong architectural events and urban marks. The site is...