2Portzamparc Architects | Urban Planners

2Portzamparc is a Paris-based company combining Elizabeth and Christian de Portzamparc’s teams, working on a variety of ambitious projects of national and international scopes. Elizabeth and Christian de Portzamparc carry out numerous reflections on different scales, going from the building to the territory. Their projects give rise to the application of their theories and to the numerous researches they carry on the sustainable and scalable city. Christian de Portzamparc theorized and put into practice the open block since 1975. This kind of block and the composition of the buildings allow to bring sun and different views to the housing respecting the principle of the street, essential element for the liveliness of the city. Elizabeth de Portzamparc has formulated in 1977 her pioneer theory of “district / sub-districts”, basic and fundamental urban units that condition the existence of a “local life”. In 1997, during the creation of the Bordeaux Tramway network and its “metropolitan identity grid”, by her double sociological and architectural approach, she worked on the idea of metropolitan identity, respecting the local identities. Each project is a new challenge of research and experimentation, the occasion for Elizabeth and Christian de Portzamparc to develop new concepts and to extend their renowned theories by adapting them to each new site and subject. This is possible thanks to the skills of their multidisciplinary teams formed not only by architects, urbanists and scenographers, but also team members who are trained to work on essential fields - anthropology, sociology, philosophy - to foster the different subjects of her projects in the most adequate and properly way. Their theories and methods, known worldwide, make the work of the company 2Portzamparc easily identifiable. Their adaptability to each different context allows the lasting construction of their projects, responding to the contemporary challenges.