Possible territories

For the past 20 years, Atelier du Rouget has taken a patient approach to peripheral and rural areas. Like these living environments, the firm’s projects vary enormously in their nature and scale, ranging from individual and collective housing, cultural centers, and sports facilities to guide plans, amenities, and furnishings.

Simon Teyssou, the firm’s founder, who recently received the Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme, and his collaborators do not draw clear dividing lines between urban planning, architectural, and landscaping projects, nor between construction issues and regional, social, and economic considerations. A firm proponent of the cross-scalar approach long-advocated by the National School of Architecture in Clermont-Ferrand, where Simon Teyssou is now the director, Atelier du Rouget tries to go beyond these divisions, which, especially in rural areas, can efface the connections and continuities that are vital to harmonious living. This exhibition offers a journey through the firm’s work, focusing on three themes: connections, possibilities, and the long-term.