Beckmann N’Thépé Architects

The architecture practice Beckmann-N’Thépé and Partners was founded in 2001
Aldric Beckmann – 28th July 1970 – Architect DPLG (Paris la Seine School of Architecture - 1995)
Françoise N’Thépé – 26th June 1973 – Architect DESA (École Spéciale d’Architecture - 1999)

Founders and directors of an architectural practice employing forty associates, Aldric Beckmann and Françoise N’Thépé form a duo that is passionate about experimentation, constantly seeking innovative solutions, actively engaged in issues to do with sustainable building, particularly sensitive to different ways of inhabiting urban space and its various constituent elements (traffic, public transport, shared living spaces, individual living units, work zones, commercial zones, leisure zones, cultural institutions).

The first years of the firm’s existence were marked by several prestigious projects, notably the redevelopment of the Vincennes Zoo, the extension of the Versailles School of Architecture, and the construction of 48 social housing units in the ZAC Masséna in Paris’s 13th arrondissement. These early projects established the practice as one of the most innovative and promising young architectural firms in France. The practice was honoured in the 2001-2002 Nouveaux Albums des Jeunes Architectes (Prize for Young Architects).

Since its foundation the practice has continued to evolve, committed to promoting its openhearted, generous style of architecture. Its principles are focused on introducing as much natural light as possible, favouring the integration of public spaces where people can meet and share and communities can flourish, incorporating carefully-designed and luxuriant vegetation, and distracting from inherent site limits, whether visual, programmatic or contextual, in order to guarantee high-quality architecture for all. The practice is committed to a strong social engagement, illustrated by its exacting architectural signature. The firm has gone on to expand and work throughout France and abroad, working in all areas that impact the built environment: urbanism, architecture, interior architecture, theatre and exhibition design, signage and graphics.