The work of the office focuses on the production of space in the broad sense: urbanism, public space, architecture, design ... The office develops projects with different programs and scales, sharing the same approach. Each project is therefore a field of research, with a specific context and specific problematics in which generic themes reappear: density, urbanity, mixed-use, diversity, sustainability... The answer is nevertheless unique and specific for each project, with the aim of valuing the qualities of the site and taking advantage of peculiarities of a program.
The projects take the shape of architectural, urban and environmental strategies. Strategies that lay down rules, bases of the project, leaving many opportunities within the same concept. This approach allows the project to absorb the changes related to the process, while affirming its core principles. The project is developed in close collaboration with the client and project team, which allows to integrate all their constraints and turn them into potential; with this approach, the concept of sustainable development is integrated in the early design phases.
The produciton of the office is rooted in a social, cultural and constructive context in perpetual motion.
FRES ARCHITECTES was created in Paris in 2004 by Laurent Gravier and Sara Martin Camara, after receiving the First Prize for the Europan 7 competition on the site of Nanterre, in the outskirts of Paris. The agency gains in 2009 the international competition for the construction of the theater of the new comedy of Geneva and open in 2010 the second agency in Geneva.
In 2012, the office was nominated for the "Prix de la Première Oeuvre" (French award for the best first-completed work) for the construction of 23 social dwellings in Béthune (FR). This project has been distinguished and nominated for several national and international awards: distinguished for PRIX AMO 2013 (Architectes et Maîtres d’Ouvrage), shortlisted for Ugo Rivolta European Social Housing Award 2013, shortlisted for WAN Residential Award 2013 and First Prize for the Archi Design Club Awards 2013. In 2014, FRES ARCHITECTES won the international limited competition for the development of the hub station of Renens in Lausanne (CH). In 2016, the operation of 50 social housing rue Binet, in association with Kempe-Thill architects is nominated at the “Equerre d'argent” award. In september 2019, FRES is awarded the 2nd Prize in the international open competition for the construction of the National Concert Hall in Vlinius, Lithuania, out of 248 projects. In 2021, the Nouvelle Comédie de Genève Theater received the AFEX Prize, distinguishing best projects designed by French architectural offices and realized abroad.