BFV Architectes

2, rue Labois Rouillon
75019 Paris
+33 1 86 95 92 00
contact@bfv.team

graphic design and art direction: Change is good

website: Timothée Goguely

team portraits photographer: Thaddé Comar

english translations: Léa Denièle

books

Et soudain surgit face au vent….
Bocabeille Fassio Viaud

Let’s get started, let’s talk about architects. Architects can be harassing, discredited. They are constantly re-inventing their own practice. They take financial risks and bear important legal responsibilities. Yet, ever-lasting youth is one of the most significant virtues of architects. A 50-year-old architect is a young architect. BFV is thus a young architecture practice, created in 2018 by three lively architects in their fifties and strongly animated by the power of youth : on one hand, Jean Bocabeille, who had been running his own studio since 2012, and on the other hand, Olivier Fassio and Jean-Brice Viaud, who established their studio in the 1990’s (Fassio Viaud Architectes). As Olivier Fassio (who is also psycho-genealogist) would say, meeting someone by chance is by nature part of the wider story, even the destiny. BFV perfectly embodies his statement.

Back to the future. Jean Bocabeille studied at Belleville during the “great years” of the school (the Ciriani period). He established his first practice together with Ignacio Prego in 1996 (BP Architectures). At the very beginning of the 2000’s, he and three other studios funded Plan01, a collective of architects and friends. Plan01 designed and completed several buildings, including the Thiepval memorial (2004), the Vendée History Museum (2006) and the Vern-sur-Sèche crematorium. In 2012, Jean Bocabeille and Ignacio Prego decided to put their common practice to an end, and Jean started his solo practice. He built dwellings and a religious center for Vinci in the Batignolles district, dwellings in the rue de Nantes, a school in Courbevoie, a nursery in Epinay-sous-Senart, another school in Paris 18, and the M9C multifunctional complex (dwellings, a school and a theater) for Paris Rive Gauche.

For their part, Olivier Fassio and Jean-Brice Viaud both graduated from the renowned school of Versailles. They completed together several singular and noteworthy buildings, including the first offices made of Corian for PRD (an energy-plus building housing the Cité de l’environnement in Pantin), the Paul Baillart cultural center in Massy, a canine center, a public library in l’Île-Saint-Denis and a sport hall made of stone in Versailles. Repetition is something they banished from their work. Their appetite for new experiences led them to exciting challenges, some of them being addressed for the first time : wooden structure (Pulse), using Corian and stone cladding, original geometries… The three men met in the French Touch, a collective of architects in which they were involved. In 2008, when Goldmann Sachs collapsed and cast a shadow over the world, the collective curated the French pavilion of the Venice Biennale with a project called GénéroCité. More, the collective’s Annuel d’Architecture Optimiste (Optimist Architecture Yearly Issue) made the headlines and has been a matter of debate for several years. Remember?

Optimism, friendship, and, above all, a sense of adventure. For Jean, Olivier and Jean-Brice, this new partnership is part of a long story of collectives and challenging collaborations. In the end, the new team’s strategy is the same as ever : being genuinely alive and sharing ideas and experiences. Do It Yourself is too cynical - they rather go for Do It Together. Their first projects as a team include : Pulse, a 30 000sqm wooden structure office building for Icade in Aubervilliers (completed in 2019), a student hall in Aubervilliers (also completed in 2019), a 6500sqm office building for DCB in Villeurbanne (expected for 2021) and 430 high standard dwellings as part of a transformation-restructuration-extension operation in Suresnes, on the river side (also expected for 2021).

Contractors, urban planners and developers, public bodies, elected leaders… This message is for you. BFV, it’s more than 800 000 sqm of housing, offices and public programs, built in either tense or relaxed environments, from 1 up to Z. It’s a genuine taste for novelty, a deep trust in the human factor, and more than 30 years of experience.

It’s a young team ; look no further.

Jean Bocabeille
Partner

Architect, ENSA Paris Belleville
Lecturer and studio teacher at ENSA Versailles

Whether in school or at the office, Jean teaches architecture. He will discuss its origins, question its fundamental principles and foster debates. His contagious enthusiasm pushes him to fight for a smarter way to practice architecture, to build it, to live it and to work in it. He is a good-tempered warrior who stands against any kind of violence. His black notebook – his only weapon – is always at hand, and his pencil always ready to write new the rules.

Olivier Fassio
Partner

Architect, ENSA Versailles

Olivier is both immediacy and slowness. Immediacy when it comes to find out the most relevant entry point into a new project, or to outline the very essence of a concept. Slowness when he decides to keep for later concepts that have not reached yet maturity, or when he steps back from a given situation in order to look at it in amore accurate way. These two opposite yet complementary features are drawn upon a deep and constant look on human society, leading Olivier to be an efficient, creative and… explosive partner!

Jean-Brice Viaud
Partner

Architect, ENSA Versailles

Jean-Brice is a clever blend of elegance and expertise. His elegant style matches his elegant way of looking at the world, a view he expresses through sophisticated photographs and subtle drawings. His architectural expertise is defined by his strong determination to turn complex projects into simple and readable objects, pushing him to draw every single detail with the same conviction. And when it comes to people, he demonstrates the same elegance and expertise… Such a classy man!

Solweig Doat
Office manager

Architect, ENSA Paris Val-de-Seine

Solweig is the engine of the team. She has been working with Jean Bocabeille since 2005 ((BP) Architectures at the time). Her rigor is made of solid steel. She works on numerous projects and supervises several construction sites. Her long and extensive field experience, which she is always keen on sharing, justifies her new position as one of the office partners. She is the project manager of the students’ hall in Aubervilliers, the mixed-use program of the Clichy Batignolles ZAC in Paris and the housing project in Nanterre. She supervises BFV projects with a genuine goodwill and assist new staff members with benevolence and care.

Maria Cristina di Martino
Communication & strategy manager

Master of cultural projects management, IESA Paris ; Master of Arts and Languages, EHESS Paris ; Master of Literary Translation, Paris VIII

Cristina left Italy, her home country, to settle in Paris in 2010. She started to work straightaway, first as a staff member of the Foundation Le Corbusier for 7 years, and then as a freelancer in communication for the Fondation Gulbenkian – Délégation France. Eager to explore other forms and aspects of art, she boldly shifted to architecture, with no previous knowledge or experience in that area. She is today the communication and strategy manager of the office. She demonstrated a great sense of professionalism when helping Jean Bocabeille and Fassio-Viaud to merge their practices and create a new visual identity for BFV Architectes.

Youssra Aarba
Resources manager

Administration management degree (BTS)

Our « little » Youssra is growing up! Youssra has been conscientiously working with us for three years now. She is kind of a dreamy colleague : to each of your questions, she will always have the right answer. Every problem can be solved thanks to her management skills. Precision, velocity and gentleness are some of her most appreciated qualities.

Felipe Carrara
Rendering artist

Architect & Urban planner, ENSA Paris La Villette

Felipe has golden hands. He moved from Brazil 14 years ago. Every single image that he creates for our studio is lit up by his precise and precious sense of light. He will always go further in the depiction of details, until the slightest reflection. Felipe is a calm, smiling and open architect who is keen on surprising us, and we always enjoy being surprised.

Flavie Frouin
Project manager

Architect, ENSA Nantes

Flavie is our « housing » expert. She joined our team to supervise the 71 housing units project in Aubervilliers and she hasn’t made any a break since. Our 450 housing units project in Suresnes and 180 housing project in the city center of Balaruc-les-Bains are in her hands. She will gladly describe housing as a noble discipline of architecture. She manages her team andprojects with calm and care. Athlete and actress as well on her free time, her determination and commitment are her trademark.

Jean-Marc René
Project manager

Architect, École d’architecture de Paris-Tolbiac

It has already been 20 years since Jean-Marc started to work with Olivier Fassio and Jean-Brice Viaud. Housing, offices, public buildings… He knows them all ! He can manage several projects at the same time, always in a quiet and subtle manner. He is the project manager of the hotel we are currently building in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, and of two housing projects in Gentilly and Pantin. Jean-Marc is also passionate about photography. His deep and genuine interest in architectural details can be noticed in his pictures.

Pierre Swaenepoel
Project manager

Architect, ENSA Versailles

Pierre has been the travel fellow of Jean-Brice and Olivier since their time together at the Architecture School of Versailles. From the very beginning of his architecture career, he has worked both with Fassio-Viaud and on personal projects. Whatever the scale of the project (from the sink of school toilets to the 80 000 seats stadium), Pierre is always driven by his genuine desire to design fair and appropriate solutions, and shares anytime his enthusiasm with other members of the staff, contractors and future users.

Serge de Pretto
Project manager

Architect, École d'architecture de la ville & des territoires in Marne-la-Vallée

Fine arts and museum scenography were Serge’s first moves in the field of architecture. He always had a great curiosity for other subjects. He has been working on a regular basis with Fassio-Viaud as an independent architect since 2004. His status of independent architect suits him well : Serge is someone that does not easily fit in a specific category. He spent 3 years in Morocco to work on the extension of the Marrakech airport before eventually coming back to France to work on many kinds of projects. He is currently the project manager of our 125 dwellings and 8 houses project in Argenteuil.

Charles Ducerisier
Project manager

Architect, ENSA Versailles

Charles is fascinated by industrial harbors. Not so surprising, knowing that he comes from Saint-Nazaire… Before studying architecture, Charles started his university education with a two year-program called Space Design. As we can see in the numerous and meaningful pictures he posts on his Instagram account, Charles’ love for beautiful images is nourished by his strong interest in volumes, light and materials. He is the youngest project manager of the office. He supervises the 98 housing units project in Villepinte.

Vincent Chevalier
Project assistant

Architect, ENSA Versailles

Vincent graduated from the Architecture school of Versailles. His final dissertation was a discussion on the Narcissus myth – a metaphor of the architect who must deal with others in order to get to know him/herself. Vincent will always turn the conversation into something unexpected, bringing together philosophy, psychanalysis, cinema and political references. He thinks straight to the point. He already knew as a child that he would later on chose a job enabling him to think about the world and to shape it. He is fond of architecture and politics : the dialogue between the two is the base of his architectural thinking.

have works with us

Nikos Georgoussis
Joséphine Delignies
Pierre Le fur
Léa Denièle
Adrien Duverver de cuy
Salila Sihou
Léa Balmy
Thibault Dezellus
Walter Froger
Sylvain Gentil
Marie Teurlings
Marianne Waquier
Côme Bocabeille
Arthur Renaudineau
Mona Chollet
Zoé Remon
Romain De berranger
Sawsan Belkedrouci
Apolline Wache
XIN Luo
Boris Fillon
Mélisande Theodore
Ioan Razvan molie
Younes Diouri
Noémie Jahel
Romain De la bouvrie
Léopoldine Faivre
Daniel Hazanas
Marine Favennec
Nicolas Jentellet
Joanne Stretz
Charlotte Chapin
Philippine Ray
Chloé De salins
Céline Pinto
Nathalie Bernini
Claire Bogino

all of us

BFV Architectes is an architecture studio funded by Jean Bocabeille, Olivier Fassio and Jean-Brice Viaud.

This acronym stands for more than 20 years of experience. It embodies both a historical continuity and a strong desire to grow together and broaden the scope of action. The idea of creating a new practice was obvious to the three men, as much as their will to keep building a consistent, efficient and meaningful kind of architecture.

Together this time.

Bocabeille, Fassio and Viaud’s projects have been carried out either as collective journeys ([BP] Architectures, Plan01 or Fassio-Viaud Architectes) or individual adventures (Jean Bocabeille Architecte). The three architects share a contemporary and expressive approach of architecture and always provide innovating solutions that combine aesthetics and materiality.

BFV Architectes counts more than 50 projects over the past 25 years.

BFV Architectes worked on all kinds of program: mixed-use developments, social housing, private housing, hotels, students halls, nursing homes, offices, public buildings (culture, sport and school facilities) and infrastructures (a tunnel and a highway toll). BFV Architectes experimented a broad range of construction systems using concrete, steel and wood. BFV Architectes also got involved in redevelopment operations of modern architecture buildings. Last, environmental issues and requirements are fully part of BFV architects design process.

Architects scope of action and missions have radically changed throughout the past 10 years. New actors emerged, reflecting new environmental, social and economic requirements (HEQ, project management advisors, promoters, start-ups, residents…) and influencing the design process in many ways.

This evolution can be explained by two key factors. Competitions and calls for projects launched by the city of Paris reshaped the roles of traditional actors of the construction process. Today, private actors such as promoters are assisted by project management advisors, organizations and start-ups. They take a more active part in discussions about the project main lines. They convey new contemporary ideas of what it is to live together , which they enhance through social and environmental proposals. On the other hand, public contractors, assisted by urban planners, developers and project management advisors considerably increased their standards regarding numerous construction features and started to implement labels, prescriptions and procedures to appoint the different actors of the project: architects, construction companies, promoters…

Thus, architectural projects got more and more supervised, shaped upstream and regulated throughout the whole construction process, reducing architects’ scope of action on the very essence of the project. To face these numerous changes, BFV Architectes redefined their architectural practice which they based on their experience and a fundamental skill of the profession: the art of building.

In De Architectura, Vitruvius stated three fundamental conditions to build good architecture: firmitas, utilitas, venustas.

Firmitas, or firmness, implies that “foundations must be carried down to solid grounds, and built with the best and most suitable materials, regardless of the costs”. This definition underlines the durability of buildings, which is based on both firmness and quality of materials, two compulsory features of a good and lasting architecture.

Utilitas, or functionality, implies that buildings must be designed “in a subtle way that responds to the needs of actual users, providing them with spaces offering commodity”. This definition suggests drawing less determined spaces to free buildings from space-related constraints in the future.

Venustas, or beauty, implies that “the overall look must be pleasant and elegant, using adequate and balanced proportions to tie together the different parts of the building”. What if this definition was simply the result of the two concepts defined above?

To conclude, BFV Architectes is driven by a strong desire to share their extensive experience of construction. We want to be reliable and committed partners, to offer our expertise and to foster discussions with all the actors of the real estate world in order to design optimized solutions and smarter developments.