Atelier LWD was an architecture studio led by

Guy Lagneau Guy Lagneau (1915 – 16 December 1996) was a French architect, one of the founders of Atelier LWD, who was involved in many major projects in France and Africa. Early years Guy Lagneau was born in 1915. He was a pupil and admirer of the ar ...

, Jean Dimitrijevic and Michel Weill that was active from 1952 to 1985. It later took the name of "Atelier d'Etudes Architecturales" (ATEA) (Architectural Studies Workshop) with the addition of Paul Cordoliani, Henri Coulomb (1927–2006), Renzo Moro and

Ivan Seifert Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

(1926–2008). The studio originated many public buildings in France and Africa.

History

Guy Lagneau (1915–1996) and Michel Weill (1914–2001) met in the studio of

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

in the National School of Fine Arts established in 1943. They participated with Perret in the reconstruction of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

from 1946, work that was later declared a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Laigneau was particularly influenced by

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n architecture, especially steel. Jean Dimitrijevic (1926–2010) joined the agency in 1947 after meeting Guy Lagneau in a Fine Arts workshop he was running. He graduated in 1957 and completed his training at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1959. He then became a partner of the workshop. The architects created the ATEA in association with a consulting firm, ''Société d'études techniques et d'aménagements planifiés'' (SETAP). ATEA-SETAP was involved in many planning operations in Africa, including

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. At the same time, they accepted numerous public commissions from museums, prefectures, and shopping centers in France. Lagneau also participated as an individual in preparation of master plans and urban development in the Paris region between 1962 and 1965, contributing to creation of new towns. On many occasions the agency worked with

Jean Prouvé Jean Prouvé (8 April 1901 – 23 March 1984) was a French metal worker, self-taught architect and designer. Le Corbusier designated Prouvé a constructeur, blending architecture and engineering. Prouvé's main achievement was transferring man ...

in creating innovative metal structures and with the designer

Charlotte Perriand Charlotte Perriand (24 October 1903 – 27 October 1999) was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. In her article "L'Art de Vivre" f ...

for interior design.

Key achievements

The partners were responsible for many significant projects, including: *1952–1955: Paul Bert d'Aplemont School group in

. *1953–1954: Hotel de France (Conakry) with

and

*1955–1961: Musée des Beaux-Arts André Malraux in Le Havre (with

and

) *1957: Ore port of

Boké Boké is the capital city of Boké Prefecture within the Boké Region of Lower Guinea near the border with Guinea-Bissau. It is also a sub-prefecture of Guinea. Located along the Rio Nuñez which flows to its not-too-distant mouth on the Atlanti ...

. *1957: Taiba Mbaye Senegal. *1958: Prototype of the House of the Sahara for the Ideal Home Exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris with Jean Prouve and Charlotte Perriand (destroyed). *1958–1959: "Les Buffets" housing on the Avenue du Marechal Foch in

Fontenay-aux-Roses Fontenay-aux-Roses () is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. In 1880 a girls school École Normale Supérieure was opened in the town. It was one of ...

(

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

), in collaboration with John Perrottet *1958: City of

Cansado Cansado ( ar, كانصادو) is a coastal town in north-western Mauritania on the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula. It is located in the Nouadhibou Department in the Dakhlet Nouadhibou region. It was built from scratch in the early 1960s for the staff ...

. *1960: Agency office building for Air France, rue Scribe in the 9th district of Paris, in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand *1961: The town of

Maspalomas Maspalomas () is a tourist resort in the south of the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, stretching from Bahía Feliz in the east to Meloneras in the west, including the resort towns of San Agustín and Playa del Inglés and San Fernando. ...

, Gran Canaria, Spain *1963: Office building of the Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) Boulevard Malesherbes in Paris *1964–1967: Faculty of Letters of Nice *1965: Primary School Balizy in

Longjumeau Longjumeau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants of Longjumeau are known as ''Longjumellois'' (). History Longjumeau Party School In 1911, Lenin founded the Longjumeau ...

(

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

(1200 students) *1965–1985: Administrative center of Evry (Essonne) (Prefecture, County Council, Courthouse). *1971–1976: Administrative offices, joint distribution centers

EDF EDF may refer to: Organisations * Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association * Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, ...

- GDF,

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

*1971–1987: Vacation rentals Marines

Cogolin Cogolin () is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Climate Cogolin has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csa''). The average annual tempera ...

*1972–1985: ''

Les Quatre Temps The Westfield Les 4 Temps is the main shopping center in the business district of La Défense, in the western suburbs of Paris, on the territory of the commune of Puteaux in the Hauts-de-Seine. In 2019, ''Les Quatre Temps'' is the most visited sh ...

'' shopping center at

La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbevoie, ...

near Paris. *1979–1982: Inner station of

Cergy-Pontoise Cergy-Pontoise () is a New town#France, new town and an Agglomeration communities in France, agglomeration community in France, in the Val-d'Oise and Yvelines departments of France, departments, northwest of Paris on the river Oise (river), Oise. I ...

(

), in association with Ivan Seifert *1981–1985: Office of the

Bank of France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

Marne-la-Vallée Marne-la-Vallée () is a new town located near Paris, France. Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney Studios Park, Val d'Europe, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, ESIEE Paris, and École des Ponts ParisTech are located in Marne-la-Vallée. Statu ...

(

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

)

References

{{ACArt Architecture firms of France

History

Key achievements

Further reading

References