A little more about me...
Architecture: more than the sum of its parts
Having completed a Bachelor's degree in Switzerland and a Master's degree in Architecture in Canada, I am now an Intern at the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC), where I aim to become a registered Architect.
My academic journey has been enriched by diverse experiences, including working on construction projects in Cameroon, Nepal, Thailand, and France. These experiences have not only broadened my architectural knowledge but also fostered an open and curious mind toward new ideas and perspectives. This global exposure has been instrumental in shaping my approach to architectural creation.
My perspective on architecture is that of a creative and skillful science, a discipline that, when executed rigorously, can significantly contribute to the creation of a greater whole. My goal as a future registered architect is not just to design buildings but to explore how architecture can enhance the lives of individuals and communities through aesthetics, comfort, and function. I envision these architectural frameworks as self-sustaining systems that evolve and adapt to the changing needs of their users, a vision I am deeply committed to and passionate about.
For example, during my current work as an assistant architect for Chernoff Thompson Architects in Canada, I had the opportunity to witness the strong interactions between the architecture of a project they had previously built and its various political, economic, social, and cultural environments. In 2013, the company revitalized a historic center in the heart of Vancouver called the Sinclair Centre, bringing a revival of visits and numerous sources of jobs and businesses to the historical place and some beneficial seismic upgrades. The following wave of optimism, vigour, and creativity among community members facilitated the successful assimilation of the reviving project into its environment. As I am currently working on rehabilitating a pensionary into a school in the center of British Columbia for the same company, I am aiming toward a similar thriving assimilation of this project in its community and environments. However, this fruitful outcome can only be achieved by understanding individuals as part of a community with culturally specific needs, which has been captured by meticulous surveys conducted prior to the architectural planning process.
As I continue this journey, I am constantly reminded of the significance of maintaining a curious and open mind. The field of architecture is ever-evolving, and it is crucial to approach it with a sense of perpetual learning and exploration. I am deeply committed to embracing new ideas and perspectives, as I believe this is fundamental to the evolution of architectural design and innovations.
Amaury Retailleau
AR.chitect
15/11/2022
In Motion...
During these last 12 years, I had the chance to live in several different countries. A perpetual journey that had taught me more about life, love and fear than any educational book or other teaching methods could have.
Frequent travellers or those who have simply moved abroad will nod to this: Traveling has broadened their horizons and made them more open-minded. What they will not tell you is that it's the most altering thing they have ever done.
Trips are often choices between two doors, leaving or staying. In all cases, the decision shapes people.
The urge to leave is often a curiosity from another place to satiate, like wanting to look for the greener grass on the other side of the fence. To confront oneself and learn from another culture or to destabilize oneself in a completely atypical place out of our landmarks.
My idea is not to travel to collect stamps on passports but especially to understand and discover more about a culture from another angle. The Aborigines of Australia have a ritual called "Walkabout." To move from adolescence to adulthood, a person must spend several weeks or months alone in the desert to train, learn, and fend for themself.
During our travels, we are often faced with ourselves and our decisions. Learning about our own functioning and abilities is gratifying, and many feel changed upon returning.
On the way, we are confronted with so many destabilizing or basic re-learning situations. Ultimately, and with time, understanding how the integration process works in another culture makes travel more accessible, and the world becomes a whole that can be explored when decided.
I have gained from every culture I have encountered, and my travels have shaped me into who I am now. I cannot say that I am French, Australian, English, Italian, Swiss, Thai, Nepalese, Cameroonian, or Canadian, but I am definitely a bit of everyone.
Where would I finish this world exploration? I will say it once I finish this walkabout...
Amaury Retailleau
AR.chitect
15/10/2020
"The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands"
Sir Richard Burton
Architecture: a constant investigation
A statement that, I think, reflects in many ways my approach to the architectural practice and my understanding of what an architect should be or should become.
"Architecture is an investigation in which the architect is the detective."
During my architectural studies, I have always tried to focus on the process leading to the result. Indeed, there can be no form without content. The architect has the obligation to gather as much information as possible in order to proceed with the design.
For me, this research can be divided into two parts.
The first part is analyzing the environment surrounding a project, which I will call the "external" investigation phase. The environment can be very varied. The architect must know what he is building, how to live there, for whom, how many people will use this new construction, and how they will use it. He also needs to understand the constraints of the terrain he will rely on, what climate and ecosystem are there in this part of the world, and the local building methods. This is something that I personally experienced and appreciated during my internship in Cameroon for the company Lynk Afrique on the occasion of construction for this company.
The architect can never take things for granted because every project, every mission, every architectural firm, every client is different. While working for Architects 49 in Thailand, I understood the importance of research and how it affects the shape of the building or how we interact with it. This understanding was glaring when looking at the relationship that the team I have been part of wants to have with its clients and the importance it gives to the modelling and implementation of projects.
As mentioned earlier, the duty of an architect is to be conscious. He must be aware of the impact of a building on a population, the impact of its structure on the ground, and the potential it has to change the lives of its users. During my first professional experience as a site manager assistant for Kachatarn in Thailand, I was impressed by the influence that a building can have on a community. The company designed a hotel center in the heart of Phrae city in the early 1990s called the Nakhon Phrae Tower, bringing a revival of visits, sources of jobs and businesses to the provincial town. Even today, he is still considered by community members as a real success. This could not have been achieved without a meticulous survey of the needs of the population, which I became aware of when working in this construction company.
The second part of the research process is what I will call an "inner" investigation phase. This personal search takes place while meeting new people; sometimes, they are future users for whom we build, sometimes engineers we work with, and sometimes, they can also be the people we meet while travelling to new destinations or simply on the bus while going to work.
I think that for every task, new job or new study, we learn more about ourselves and what we are looking for than we do about a project. For example, during my humanitarian experience in Nepal for a post-earthquake reconstruction program in 2015 where I was able to work with engineers, masons and builders but also directly with other volunteers coming with more or less affinities about the world of construction and giving all of them without expecting anything in return. These new encounters have forged my personality as an architect and, most importantly, as a human being. It helped me better understand how, as a person, I would react to specific questions.
What are we looking for? The architect never really knows. But through his encounters, his work environment and his loved ones, he manages to discover what he was looking for in the first place. To return to the detective, who devotes a significant part of his life to his investigations, the architect devotes most of his own to understanding the world around him and, at the same time, himself.
Amaury Retailleau
AR.chitect
15/08/2018
