Prinvault Architectes is an architecture practice founded in 2004 by François Prinvault (b. 1972) with the significant restructuring and rooftop expansion of a 12-unit residential project in Clichy (Greater Paris), a project that evokes the years he spent studying the transformation of existing spaces at the École Boulle. This first project was soon followed by timber-framed buildings, notably the Mannevillette*, Bernay*, and Alfortville* school complexes, which in turn reflect his years studying carpentry at the École Technical University Auguste Perret in Le Havre*. The firm then delivered its first new residential buildings, continuing the legacy of his training at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville.
Today, the firm's work is equally divided, with equal expertise, between the renovation of heritage buildings—whether modern, Haussmannian, or Faubourg style—and new construction. Prinvault Architectes promotes density and compactness as key levers in the fight against urban sprawl and the artificialization of the landscape. A necessary reflection on uses, the quality of private and shared spaces, reversibility, decarbonization, and materiality forms the basis of their design approach.
