Practice

Philosophy

HEMAA is an architecture and urban planning agency founded by Charles Hesters and Pierre Martin-Saint-Etienne. The agency’s work spans all scales of architecture and land-use planning, both urban and rural. The diversity of projects we undertake—including public facilities, multi-family and single-family housing, and cultural venues—allows us to maintain a cross-disciplinary and open-minded approach that enriches and renews our thinking with each project. The solutions we develop are collectively crafted around a commitment to sustainable architecture that respects it site. We believe that the act of building must be generous and give back as much as it receives from its context. Weadvocate for architecture rooted in the history and geography of a place. Understanding its essence allows us to define the site layout, form, and lines, and to build using the materials best suited to each project and each location. Each situation offers an opportunity to reexamine the scale and impact of buildings on their environment in order to determine the appropriate size of built volumes; to fragment the mass; and to enhance the voids.

The school complex in Normandy was thus an opportunity to build in timber and local slate, drawing on traditional morphologies. The school in Sartrouville is built in load-bearing solid stone, the Childhood and Sports Center in Évry creates a village of pavilions in load-bearing rammed earth and timber at the heart of a park, and the house in Garches is partly constructed from millstone grit salvaged from the demolition of the existing building. This research into site integration, the use of bio-based or reclaimed materials, and local resources forms the foundation of our environmental approach. We eliminate every superfluous material to return to an architecture composed of its essential elements. Through the lens of this passive design approach, we also ensure that each project strives for energy and carbon efficiency throughout its entire life cycle. We believe that nature and architecture are not opposed to one another. On the contrary, the right dialogue between the two must be found in each project, so that these places and landscapes may find a new equilibrium.