Manuelle Gautrand Architecture

Manuelle Gautrand Architecture MANUELLE GAUTRAND ARCHITECTURE is a Parisian based architecture firm founded by Manuelle Gautrand in 1991.

“NOT JUST BUILDINGS: ARCHITECTURE AS ARTISTIC PRACTICE” Come to the lecture I will give at the Vila 31 - Tirana!April 20...
10/05/2026

“NOT JUST BUILDINGS: ARCHITECTURE AS ARTISTIC PRACTICE”
Come to the lecture I will give at the Vila 31 - Tirana!
April 2026 the 14th at 19.00

What happens when architecture exceed its functional mandate? My lecture will investigate how my practice deliberately position itself within the realm of art.
I will focus on several built projects and design processes, and show how I like to integrate artistic thinking into our work: through abstraction, material experimentation and the construction of spatial narrative.
Rather than opposing utility and expression, I think that function can coexist with -and even amplify- artistic intend.
Our projects aim to be defined by their capacity to operate simultaneously as infrastructure and a cultural artifact, and challenge conventional definitions of both disciplines.

Thanks to


« SOUS LES LAUZES »: Our artwork along the famous routes to Santiago de Compostela is on its way to be completed! These ...
17/04/2026

« SOUS LES LAUZES »: Our artwork along the famous routes to Santiago de Compostela is on its way to be completed!
These routes are a journey: a multi-faceted journey, which also involves immersion in successive territories, punctuated by works of art, each of them celebrates the territory it crosses and its riches.

Im so grateful and honored to have been selected for one of them, by the association together with

My artwork is a refuge in the village of Bessuejouls, along the GR65.
I conceived it like a roof reaching for the sky, enveloping you and projecting you towards the stars. It will be draped in schist slates from the nearby quarries, and placed on a bed of dry stones assembled to create a Belvedere overlooking the valley.
In the lower part, the schist is flamboyant, almost orange; it comes from the earth. And then, the higher you climb, the more refined it becomes, turning black and then bluish at the very top, as if it were melting towards the sky and being reflected in it.

I’m so grateful for the huge work all the craftsmen did, especially Sebastien (for the Belvedere covered with dry stones, and Olivier for the amazing roof of schist slates). 🙏

Opening : summer 2026
.santiagonl

Here is our boutique hotel in Valence, which wlll be called the BELA HOTEL. Located at the forefront of the Rhône river ...
09/02/2026

Here is our boutique hotel in Valence, which wlll be called the BELA HOTEL.
Located at the forefront of the Rhône river and the main transport routes going form the north of France and its « cote d’azur » on the south.

The simple and minimalist volume minimizes its footprint in order to maximize its height and extend its views at 360 degrés on all the region.

It is topped by outdoor living spaces embedded in the roof, laid out in successive terraces, with a magnificent swimming pool in the middle of an open-air garden.

Begun in 2019 the studies are nearing completion and the construction phase will be able to start this coming spring.

Thanks to our client and friend!



Our studies to be soon finished for a Boutique Hotel in Valence: Begun in 2020, the studies are nearing completion and c...
11/01/2026

Our studies to be soon finished for a Boutique Hotel in Valence: Begun in 2020, the studies are nearing completion and construction will be able to start in the coming spring!🙌

This hotel will be unique and distinctive, as it is located at the forefront of the Rhône river and the main transport routes of the City of Valence.
The project also faces the large bridge crossing the Rhône and connecting to the Ardèche hills on the west side.
Naturally we designed it as an urban landmark, like a small lighthouse: the volume is compact, minimizing its footprint and maximizing its height to give it the expected character of a lighthouse.
Commissioned for the architecture of the project but also for all the interior design, right down to the FF&E design, we conceived everything as a continuous story , from the urban routes, the rhythm of the volumes, the sequences from the public entrance to the intimacy of the rooms, the materials and their colors. We are committed to anchoring this project in the history and evolution of this city, which is sometimes insufficiently known and recognized.
The entire design of the project forges links with this region, which is both a gateway to the south when coming from Lyon, and a gateway to the Lyon region when coming from Provence.
At the crossroads of these culturally rich regions, Valence has accumulated a number of treasures, whether architectural, artisanal or gastronomic, which we as architects and designers seek to explore and highlight down to the smallest detail. Volumes, shapes, materials and colors all contribute to expressing this unique character.

Thanks to all the teams, to our client

Last picture :




✨we are delighted to announce that our PHIVE public library have been selected as one of the « 150 libraries you need to...
18/11/2025

✨we are delighted to announce that our PHIVE public library have been selected as one of the « 150 libraries you need to visit before you die »!
« This selection highlights the most captivating libraries in the world, each having a unique story to tell. From Berlin to Tianjin, and Abu Dhabi, to Mexico City… and Parramatta - Australia ».
Texts are beautifully written byteuscher

« I have always imagined Paradise will be a kind of library ».

A project in collaboration with and
Photos by and

Many thanks to .sydney and .ps

Studies are underway with a tender soon to be delivered for our project in the Marievik District!Located in an area char...
06/11/2025

Studies are underway with a tender soon to be delivered for our project in the Marievik District!

Located in an area characterized by a postmodern architecture, our project offers a delicate balance between contemporary architecture and, at the same time, one that is slightly inspired by the postmodernism that is around us. The purity and strength of simple forms will be a fine tribute to postmodernism, with successive terraced volumes offering generous outdoor spaces.
In this canvas of programs, uses and timeframes (offices, hotel, commercial activities, restaurants and rooftop bar, polls and spa) we have set up a series of routes, so that the project can be experienced as a long walk, punctuated by discoveries and pauses, spaces that are more or less indoor or outdoor, intimate or monumental, studious or lively,

Thanks to our client and to all the teams, engineers and consultants!

First image by

explore

Studies are underway with a tender soon to be  launched for our project in the Marievik District in Stockholm!Located in...
06/11/2025

Studies are underway with a tender soon to be launched for our project in the Marievik District in Stockholm!

Located in an area characterized by a postmodern architecture, our project tries to offer a delicate balance between a contemporary architecture and, at the same time, one that is slightly inspired by the postmodernism that is around us. The purity and strength of simple forms will be a fine tribute to postmodernism, with successive terraced volumes offering generous outdoor spaces. In this canvas of programs (optics’s, hotel, commercial activités, restaurants and rooftop bar, pools and spa), we have set up a series of routes, so that the project can be experienced as a long walk, punctuated with discoveries and pauses, spaces that are more or less indoor or outdoor, intimate or monumental, studious or lively.

Thanks to our client, and to all the teams, engineers and consultants!
First image by


So happy that we got the permit for our project in Lalzi Bay - Albania, a multipurpose project with apartments, an hotel...
04/09/2025

So happy that we got the permit for our project in Lalzi Bay - Albania, a multipurpose project with apartments, an hotel and a lot of common facilities : Thanks so much to the National Territorial Planning Agency !

The project is located one hundred meters from the sea, a unique opportunity to celebrate this marine geography.
We wanted to celebrate it by starting with the material : sand as the basic material for the project. I was inspired by sandcastles, those dreamlike, inventive architectures that I designed in and with the sand when I was a child.
The aim is therefore to build the project with the sand from the site, as well as the gravel, and to create a monochrome, delicate sculpture, strictly the same color as the soil from which it has been taken. Tone to tone on large areas of sand that we are going to leave in the garden, it will be reminiscent of sandcastles of our childhood.

Our built volumes are relatively small and wrap themselves around a densely planted garden. They are settled like a flower, of which each building is a kind of petal.
Each petal building opens onto wide views outwards, the beautiful pine forest on the west and the mountains on the east.

Many thanks to our local partner for their precious help all the way, their in-depth expertise and their hospitality

Thanks to for the pictures 1, 3, 4 !

The construction site for our artwork-refuge has begun: located along the Way Of St James de Compostela in Aveyron, betw...
27/06/2025

The construction site for our artwork-refuge has begun: located along the Way Of St James de Compostela in Aveyron, between Espalion and the famous village of Conques, it will overlook the Lot Valley with an extraordinary view.

The base that will support the structure has just been completed: it was built entirely from recycled stones collected fields within a radius of less than one kilometer. Every local resident took part in this stone collection, and the result is a large dry stone wall running along the Way of St James, with a platform below.
Thanks to a great craftsman Sébastien Parayre, from Les Pierres sèches d’Oc

The framework is currently being prepared : chestnut trees have been collected form the surrounding forests, transported with their branches and then stripped of their outer bark. The aim is to keep the branches to create a wooden framework using an ancient technique in which the trunks and branches all form part of the same proliferating structure.
We want walkers, when they enter the artwork, to feel as if they are entering a forest, and to be able to rest in a nest as if themselves were birds among the trees and branches…
Thanks to a great craftsman Flavien Escrich, whose passion for trees knows no bounds.

The intricate framework will then be covered with large schist slates, also sourced from nearby quarries, with a wide range of colors, from fiery orange at the bottom to almost silver at the top.

So many thanks to my clients
To the village of Bessuejouls and his mayor, and to this fabulous region who knows how to be so welcoming
.aveyron

Our Marievik project in Stockholm is composed with offices and a 4stars hotel, and right now, a very successful call for...
16/06/2025

Our Marievik project in Stockholm is composed with offices and a 4stars hotel, and right now, a very successful call for tenders is underway to select the best hotelier, capable of bringing this place to life with panache.

The hotel will be the beacon of the whole site, not only because of its slender architectural form, but also because of all the common and shared programs it will offer.
Each shared area has an iconic location, always searching for the best sunrise or sunset, and the best views.
In this canvas of programs, uses and timeframes, we have set up a series of routes, so that the project can be experienced as a long walk, punctuated with discoveries and pauses, spaces that are more or less indoor or outdoor, intimate or monumental, studious or lively.
This long and varied promenade begins on the spacious ground floor which brings together the footprints of the 2 buildings, to create a single and vibrant stage that is largely open to the 4 streets all around. This ground floor combines private, commercial and public functions.
Then the walk climbs up to a series of terraces, culminating in the exceptional restaurant and rooftop bar, after passing through the outdoor and indoor swimming pools and their SPA.
The rooftop bar gets a fabulous 360 degrés views on the whole city.

A project conceived in collaboration with
For
Many thanks to for their assistance in this successful call for tenders!

.explore

✨Upper East Tirana✨We are blessed with this opportunity to imagine a project on the scale of a small neighborhood. We al...
30/05/2025

✨Upper East Tirana✨

We are blessed with this opportunity to imagine a project on the scale of a small neighborhood.
We all have this image in our minds, namely that of Manhattan : it stands out for its visual power, for the fact that New York neighborhood has a personality on its own that has never been found elsewhere.
But we also have the image of Bologna in Italy, which over the course of the 12th and 13th centuries, saw
the emergence of a multitude of towers, each as slender and elegant as the next, giving the city an unique character.

Our neighborhood here in Tirana must cultivate an atmosphere and a quality of life that is uniquely its own : bold, environmentally virtuous, this project must strive to express the DNA of the city, its history, its present and the direction in which it wants to go in the future.

We propose to study the question of density and intensity by creating a succession of rather fine, tall volumes, each with its own orientation and materiality that follow on from those of the previous volume, and its own approach to organizing outdoor spaces that are always scenographic, noble and exceptional in a way.
Verticality is the direction we propose to give to the project, and the rather tight rhythm of the tall volumes that follow one another tells the story of what a city is: most of the time they are not gigantic and homogeneous built volumes, they are not super long and identical alignements on streets, but on the contrary they are a rhythm in motion, like a musical composition.

Many thanks to
To our client Glob3X
And to the architects ARTECH with whom we do the project




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36 Boulevard De La Bastille
Paris
75012

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