“Each Project Should Be an Adventure”: ECDM on Architectural Programming in France

ECDM is an architecture firm based in Paris, France. Founded by Emmanuel Combarel and Dominique Marrec, the firm exhibits a specific design attitude, which aims to create seamless connections between the old and the new. This objective is translated in their contemporary and sustainable approaches to social and affordable housing projects in and around Paris, interweaving the architecture with a lifestyle that promotes health, wellbeing and social and communal interaction. The firm’s principals talked with Architizer about their story, the studio they lead and their impact on today’s changing French architecture.

ZAC du Coteau, Arcueil, France, 2014

Architizer: Could you start by talking about the evolution of your practice and the kind of studio culture that exists in your workplace?

Emmanuel Combarel and Dominique Marrec: Each project should be an open story. We begin by figuring out the context, and then work to reinforce what we consider valuable as a potential. We study each option to understand our angle and allow for open-ended solutions. Each project should be an adventure, and no adventure begins with the final product.

Villa Saxe, Paris, France, 2015

At what stage of your project do sustainable practices most impact the design of the building, from the concept phase to the specification of building materials?

Sustainability is part of the project at every stage. It is composed of parameters that we have to evaluate from the beginning to the delivery of the project. Sustainability in architecture is the result of contextual approaches, on the economic, technical and political spectrums, all of which make parts of our society.

ZAC de Port Marianne, Montpellier, France, 2013

At the building level, how do you respond to bringing positive impact to the urban landscape (e.g. connectivity to the street, mixed-use occupancy, creation of green and public spaces)?

Urban rules, far more than architecture, define the urban landscape. Each building is an opportunity to focus on programming, mixed-use and occupancy, and density to enhance our frame of living.

City Hall Bezons, Bezons, France, 2015

How do you feel social housing programs in Paris and its suburbs have responded to and encouraged the effects of new populations moving to the city?

The main question is to resolve ways in which we can allow a population to stay in Paris, when living in Paris gets more and more expensive year after year. The first thing we want to resolve with our designs is keeping a population in the city, and secondly, allowing social diversity.

Sport Court – High School La Tourelle, Sarcelles, France, 2005

I expect you’ve read about the “Réinventer Paris” initiative. How do you think the winning projects will impact the architectural and urban language of the city?

Architecture needs events and enthusiasm. “Réinventer Paris” was made for that. The very positive expectations of this competition addressed the proposal of new programming for Paris more than new architecture. Our city should be able to develop new uses, and, for that, we need new developers.