Architecture Competition Pavilion Of Humanity: First Contact Honorable mention – RERUM architectes

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “Pavilion Of Humanity: First Contact” competition –  Claire Roy and Adélie Collard from France!

Claire Roy and Adélie Collard from France

rerum architectes is an architectural firm founded in 2020 by Claire ROY and Adélie COLLARD in Paris, France.

The two architects graduated from the National School of Architecture in Lyon, where they met during their studies and begun a common reflection through their end of studies project, “de rerum natura” – a geographical-architectural approach to the anthropization of the larger Geneva area. They continued their research parallel to their respective agency activities until the creation of the firm.

In its practice, the firm works on defining a “climate culture” by designing a contemporary contextual architecture in its sensitive, contingent, constructive, and theoretical dimensions.

By defending a mesological and geographical approach to architecture, the agency’s projects take their cultural, social, and natural environment as their starting point in the production of an “acclimatized” architecture.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been involved?

As we both worked in Parisian architectural agencies, we have often worked on equipment programs located in urban areas. Most often cultural, educational, or administrative, these projects can range from micro-scale (retail, design) to large-scale operations (school, stadium, gymnasium, conservatory, town hall, etc.).
Within rerum, these types of projects remain our main interest, as they are decisive in the social and urban offering of tomorrow. We also tackle the subject of urban renewal through the construction of housing and, in particular, buildings with wooden structures.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Architecture has the special feature of being a gateway between many disciplinary fields. Designing a building is becoming a part of a territory, questioning uses and resolving technical issues, adapting to a climate, understanding political background. This transversality makes it a discipline of great richness and adaptability. Architecture, through the ambition of a city suitable for as many people as possible, also carries the valuable idea of democracy and general interest. Architectural thinking, by its capacity to create links between various subjects, is salvific in our era where positive prospects seem tenuous. Architects open paths and escape routes to allow us to imagine the future of humanity.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Our work within the agency also flourishes in a theoretical and prospective reflection of architecture and the project process. Participation in competitions offers a privileged time to refocus and provoke reflection on subjects that interest us through conceptual and immediate responses. We integrate this time into an internal research process, more global and transversal than the usual pragmatic practice of an agency.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

In our opinion, participating in competitions brings three real benefits. The first is teamwork with identified and chosen individuals, whom you might not have the opportunity to work with in a professional or student environment.


The second is, of course, the exercise of creativity, more unbridled and prospective than in any other setting. It also allows you to refine and work on your intellectual and architectural posture.


Finally, the competition makes it possible to test the communication and rendering tools to generate your own visual language.