Franklin Azzi (French: ʁɑ̃klɛ̃ azzi born 12 August 1975 in Paris), is a French architect. He is a graduate from the

École Spéciale d'Architecture The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for architecture at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France. The school was founded in 1865 by engineer Emile Trélat as reaction against the ...

, and the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

. He is the founder of Franklin Azzi Architecture, an agency based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.

Early life and education

During his years of obligatory military service, Azzi did his first architectural works, in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He studied at the ESA École Spéciale d'Architecture, where he had a significant encounter with

Paul Virilio Paul Virilio (; 4 January 1932 – 10 September 2018) was a French cultural theorist, urbanist, architect and aesthetic philosopher. He is best known for his writings about technology as it has developed in relation to speed and power, with divers ...

, a French cultural theorist and urbanist. His practice mixing different areas of applied arts with architecture was inspired by his time at the

, where interdisciplinary studies are highly encouraged.

Career

Since 2006, Azzi has been head of Franklin Azzi Architecture, a multidisciplinary team, including architects, interior designers, decorators, graphic designers, art historians, and also parametric design researchers. His first project with public funding was the Center for American Francophonie in Québec City. He then completed other public projects, the restoration of the

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

halls in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, which now hosts the school of the :fr:École supérieure des beaux-arts de Nantes Métropole; the restructuring of the Mame Printing Houses in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, a 1950 building by

Bernard Zehrfuss Bernard Louis Zehrfuss (Angers, 20 October 1911 – Neuilly-sur-Seine, 3 July 1996) was a French architect. Life He was born at Angers, into a family that had fled from the Alsace in 1870 after the Franco-Prussian War. Zehrfuss's father was ki ...

and

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 ...

; the reconversion of the Tri Postal and the Gare Saint-Sauveur into two cultural centers, in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. In 2013, he worked with the City of Paris on the redevelopment of the Banks of the Seine, turning 2,5 kilometers of embankment into a pedestrian area. He also completed private projects: the Docks in Saint-Ouen, the seat of La Française Group, in Paris, the first

Mama Shelter Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor op ...

tower in Dubai, for the

AccorHotels Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor op ...

group. He took part in the

Grand Paris Express Grand Paris Express is a group of new rapid transit lines being built in the Île-de-France region of France. The project comprises four new lines for Paris Métro, plus extensions of existing Lines 11 and 14. A total of of new track and 68 n ...

project with the

Chevilly-Larue Chevilly-Larue () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Name Chevilly-Larue was originally called simply Chevilly. The name Chevilly was recorded for the first time in 829 (in a donation ...

station. In 2017, he was chosen to lead « the

Tour Montparnasse Tour Maine-Montparnasse (Maine-Montparnasse Tower), also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a office skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area of Paris, France. Constructed from 1969 to 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2 ...

metamorphosis », with the Nouvelle AOM team. Azzi has always considered his work as "global architecture", as he has had a multidisciplinary background. In 2014, he founded Franklin Azzi Design, with Noemie Goddard. He collaborated with artists like

Tatiana Trouvé Tatiana Trouvé (born 4 August 1968) is a contemporary Italian visual artist based in Paris who works in large-scale installations, sculptures, and drawings. Trouvé is the recipient of numerous awards including the Paul Ricard Prize (2001), Mar ...

, designers like Robert Carr, but also fashion designers, such as Bali Barret, Christophe Lemaire and Isabel Marant.

Projects

Current projects

* Laureate of the international contest for the rehabilitation of the

, with the Nouvelle AOM group, Paris, France. In July 2016, an international contest was launched for the metamorphosis of the Tour Montparnasse, with 700 international architecture agencies participating. His agency joined two other Parisian agencies (Chartier Dalix Architectes and Hardel et Le Bihan Architectes) to form the Nouvelle AOM group, and submit a proposition. They set their design workshop in the 44th floor of the Tower. In September 2017, the Nouvelle AOM group won and revealed their rehabilitation project, focusing on redefining the visual identity of the Tower, but also on comfort and energetic performances issues. The construction works are planned to last from 2019 to 2023, so that the Tower will be ready for the

2024 Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. *

Tower for the AccordHotels group,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

* Technicolor headquarters, rue du Renard, Paris * Arche de la Défense Campus, Puteaux, France& * Workstation Tower, La Défense,

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

, France * Bac Raspail Grenelle - Emerige, Paris, France *

Station, Chevilly, France

Cultural centers

* 2007 Center for American Francophonie, Québec City, Canada * 2009: Saint Sauveur Station,

, France * 2010: Tri postal, Lille, France * 2015: Mame Printing Houses,

, France

Stores

His first stores for Bali Barret in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

were inaugurated in 2004. Since then, he achieved many projects for Isabel Marant, Christophe Lemaire,

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...

, H&M or

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its gree ...

Headquarters and offices

* 2012 : Isabel Marant headquarters, Paris, France * 2013 : Docks en Seine, Saint-Ouen, France * 2015 : La Française headquarters, Paris, France

Restaurants

* 2010 : « Théâtre du Renard », Paris, France * 2013 : Le Yoyo - Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France& * 2016 : Holiday Café, Paris, France * 2017 : Blend Restaurants, Paris, France

Housing

* 2007 : Maison VW,

Yport Yport () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. The residents are known as Yportais or Yportaises. Location Yport is located on the D104 road, about north of Le Havre, on the coast of the Engl ...

, France * 2013 : Cardinet Chalabre, Paris, France Maison_VW_-_FAA

Urban facilities

* 2013 : Berges de Seine, Paris, France * 2017 : Halles Alstom, île de Nantes, France

Installations

* 2009 : Installations in the Grands Moulins, Paris, France * 2010 : Pavillon Lille Europe for the

Universal Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China

Exhibitions

* 2007 : Exo-Architecture at the

Pavillon de l'Arsenal The Pavillon de l'Arsenal is the ''Paris Center for architecture and urbanism'', a center for urban planning and museum located in the 4th arrondissement at 21, boulevard Morland, Paris, France. It is open daily except Mondays; admission is free ...

* 2014 : "One building, how many lives ?" at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

Publications

Monographs

* ''IN/OUT : Franklin Azzi Architecture'', Ante Prima/AAM editions, 2014 (in French and in English)

Bibliography

* 2008 : ''You can be young and an architect, based on the true story of Lan Architecture'', p. 8-27. * 2008 : ''Les salons de l'IFA'' (Dinner n°11), p. 100-105. * 2008 : ''Strike a pose : eccentric architecture and spectacular spaces'', p. 190-193. * 2010 : ''150 Best Eco House Ideas'', p. 412-419. * 2014 : ''Sports : Portrait d'une métropole'', p. 115-119. * 2015 : ''One building, how many lives ?'', p. 94-95. * 2015 : ''Lille respire - Concours Bas Carbone 2015''

Awards

* 2008 : AJAP Award (Albums des jeunes architectes et paysagistes), presented by the Culture and Communication Ministry.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azzi, Franklin 21st-century French architects 1975 births Living people Architects from Paris École Spéciale d'Architecture alumni Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art