Antoine Vallet, Guillaume de Martinis. Vallet de Martinis Architectes

Created in 2003 in Paris, the architectural studio Vallet de Martinis Architectes, led by Antoine Vallet and Guillaume de Martinis, is currently based in both Paris and Bordeaux.

Their work is first and foremost a work on materials. It leads their team to question all the premises that make a building not just fulfil its sole function but go beyond to become architecture. The field of application of working with materials is wide, it is a physical act of transforming materials into volumes. It is a sensitive reflection on light and voids. It is a responsible choice in terms of economy, sustainability and the provenance of materials. It is a search for rationality as intelligent simplicity.

While they recognise work guided by sensibilities, they do not want to limit it to certainties. They believe that there is no universal truth, nor immutable principles that can be applied like a recipe. A project is a sum of data and factors to be taken into account. Whether geographical, technical, human, regulatory, political or financial, they all have an influence. From there they decide whether to ignore it, defending their initial position at all costs.

"Only once we have examined the range of possibilities can we propose what we consider to be an adequate response."