Before making any architectural proposals, we need to find the means to extract what a place has to say. or Pierre Audat & Associés, no project is obvious without this fundamental prerequisite. Whether new or refurbished, the building must blend in with its surroundings, at one with the history of its site: drawing up an inventory of what already exists helps to establish continuity with the present and make it legible. Beyond that, the challenge is above all to develop the incentive power of architecture, its ability to change the way we look at what already exists and to reveal unsuspected horizons.

However beautiful it may be, a building is not just something to be seen; it must also be seen to reveal the world in which we live. The important thing is to be able to recognise specific catchphrases that convey meaning, even if it means making no distinction between the old and the new. The most important thing is that the graft takes, as if it had always been there. And while participating in the reformulation of a place is not necessarily synonymous with obliteration, neither is creating a strong identity for a building tantamount to making it gesticulate.

In Pierre Audat’s work, there is a search for a certain classicism coupled with a desire to always stamp it with the seal of contemporaneity. In addition to the attention paid to the construction choices that determine the economic feasibility of a project, there are also high aesthetic standards. From the design of a suburban bungalow to the restructuring of a nineteenth-century town house or the refurbishment of social housing, there is no hierarchy: each project has its share of nobility. Supported by the tutelary figures of Auguste Perret and Fernand Pouillon, these buildings are part of an approach aimed at reinventing classic French architecture: the style is assertive, the composition highly structured, even highlighted. Behind it lies the belief that the act of building has the power to induce a state of permanence that echoes the history of a shared culture. When the intervention is heritage-related, it operates within the rules of absolute respect for the building and finds the point of articulation with the present. Just as there is always a dialogue between before and after, the relationship between inside and outside is systematically energised. A simple interior design becomes a landscape that resonates with its surroundings, a small piece of urbanity where every residual space is exploited.

This is to the great benefit of our customers, whose primary objective is never lost sight of, while comfort and convenience are multiplied. With an artisanal vision that values the elegance of detail, the agency combines a no-frills industrial vocabulary with the use of a variety of techniques, not hesitating to divert materials. While adapting to very different programmes, it has the rare ability to create atmospheres and make them palpable. A firm believer in simplicity, she knows that the success of a project depends as much on defining an identity as on listening to those who will make it their own.