Welcome to the Archello Podcast, architecture’s most visual podcast series. Listen as Archello's Paris-based Editor-in-Chief, Collin Anderson, sits down with architects to discuss their careers and projects. Each audio episode is accompanied by a rich visual storyboard which listeners can use to follow the discussion.
Introducing Odile Decq, founder of both Studio Odile Decq and the Confluence Institute
In this episode, Archello is in Paris with Odile Decq of Studio Odile Decq, who established her own office shortly after graduating from architecture school in Brittany in the 1980s.
Decq is a prominent French architect renowned for her bold, avant-garde designs. Her notable projects include the extension of the Macro Museum in Rome and the Phantom Opera Garnier restaurant in Paris. In addition to her architectural practice, she founded the Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Architecture, which emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches in architectural education.
Listen and scroll as we explore Decq’s background, her integration of striking forms with practical design, and her motivation for introducing a new model of architectural education in France.
Inside Studio Odile Decq
Located in Paris's third arrondissement, near Canal Saint-Martin and Bastille, Odile Decq’s office-school is entered from street level on the tranquil rue des Arquebusiers. For the past three decades, this space has served as her creative studio and, for the past five years, as the home of the Confluence Institute.
The office and school are connected by a distinctive red staircase, highlighting the integration of Decq's focused professional work with her daily interactions with students. This close proximity fosters a collaborative environment where her roles as architect and educator intersect.
The school, originally launched in Lyon, was relocated to Paris in order to more succesfully attract international faculty. Although there were initial concerns about whether students would follow, the move ultimately enhanced the school’s global appeal and increased its attractiveness to international applicants.
"When I am in my office and having a hard time developing a project, I take the stairs down and I meet people smiling to me, because my students are happy."
On her roots in Brittany, and its influences
Odile Decq grew up in the west of France, where she still owns a home. She attributes much of her architectural inspiration to Brittany's dynamic landscape, characterized by its dramatic weather and seascapes. Decq often returns to Brittany, drawing reflection and influence from its ever-changing environment.
"The horizon in Brittany is dynamic and the sea views give me energy. They are full of wind and sun."
Her architectural journey began in Rennes in the early seventies, a period marked by post-1968 educational reforms. Initially dissatisfied with the theoretical focus of her studies, Decq moved to Paris, choosing a progressive school despite the frequent strikes and disruptions. This hands-on, self-directed learning period, combined with the challenging post-oil crisis economy, led her to establish her own office early in her career, despite facing financial difficulties and skepticism.
"I discovered that I was often the only woman in the room. I registered as an architect and started to meet people and try to convince them to give me projects. The answer that I received most of the time was, 'Why don't work for an architect?" But I was an architect, and they couldn't believe it."
Decq describes facing significant challenges in the male-dominated industry of architecture over the decades, including difficulties in securing projects and overcoming gender biases. She notes that systemic issues for women in architecture persist, but would also like to underscore that her portfolio is proof that female architects are equally capable of managing projects of all scales with skill. Her work ranges from intricate, small-scale designs to larger ventures, such as a recently completed residential tower in Barcelona. The projects consistently demonstrate a strong emphasis on enhancing the interior experience of buildings.
"If you look at the women architects that you know in the world, the ones that are known, you discover that they play with all scales. They do the same as men....The main difference, maybe, is that they care a lot about what happens inside the building."
On the Banque Populaire de l’Ouest
One of Odile Decq’s early notable projects was for a bank in Rennes, France, the city where she had also started her architectural studies. Completed in 1990, just two years after winning the commission, the project for the Banque Populaire de l’Ouest comprised two buildings—a social center and an administrative center—totaling 7,000 square meters.
During this period, Decq’s frequent visits to London proved instrumental. These trips provided her with valuable insights into high-tech construction techniques and details from leading architects like Rogers and Foster. The exposure influenced her approach, prompting her team to innovate and refine every aspect of the design for the bank buildings.
Decq’s choice to use steel construction was particularly bold, given its limited application for office buildings in France at the time. The decision to employ steel aimed to create open and flexible workspaces. To assist the bank staff in adapting to the new design, Decq organized site visits to address concerns about acoustics and workspace layout.
The administrative building's facade was notably innovative; rather than using reflective glass, Decq drew inspiration from Venice's Piazza San Marco. She incorporated solar screens in front of the glass facade, creating a shaded gallery that minimized heat gain while preserving transparency.
Collaboration with the renowned engineer Peter Rice was a key element of the project’s success. Rice’s experiments with double-glass facades and lightweight triangular supports were crucial to achieving the project’s design goals.
The project jumpstarted Decq’s international career by garnering global recognition and awards. It also set the stage for her transition from high-tech to "soft-tech" designs, as seen in her subsequent work, including a museum project in Rome that showcases her shift toward using prominent glass elements and concealed support structures to create a captivating effect.
On designing a contemporary art museum
Another of Decq's significant achievements is the FRAC Bretagne, a regional contemporary art museum project she won through a competition in 2005.
Situated on a site in northern Rennes, the museum faces an open square where a French abstract artist had planned to place a sculpture. In response to the artist's request not to overshadow her work, Decq designed a monolithic black structure that pays homage to Brittany’s ancient megaliths. The museum's location on a plateau allows it to engage dynamically with the region’s changing light and weather.
Decq believes that her design showcases a deep understanding of the region’s climate and light. The building’s exterior features three distinct black materials—mirrored stainless steel, various types of black glass, and black concrete blocks—chosen for their ability to reflect and absorb the shifting conditions of Brittany’s sky, thereby enhancing the museum’s presence.
Inside, the museum includes ramps and bridges inspired by Decq’s earlier project, the MACRO - Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, as well as ideas that stemmed from a discussion she read about between French artist Daniel Buren and architect Frank Gehry, which influenced her to move away from the traditional "white box" concept typical of art museums, to offer visitors a more engaging and exploratory experience.
"There is no one way to visit the museum. In a contemporary art museum, usually you dedicate one room to an artist, another one to another artist. Sometimes it's a full museum that is dedicated to the artist, but not always. So you can decide, and also give the visitors freedom."
On designing a contemporary restaurant within the historic Palais Garnier
In her smaller-scale projects, Odile Decq has brought the same innovative approach to renovations. When redesigning a historic Parisian restaurant called the Phantom, she carefully balanced the preservation of the original architecture with the introduction of contemporary elements, incorporating curvilinear forms and vibrant red fabrics.
"Working in the Opera was both scary and not so scary, because I remembered that Charles Garnier was a young architect when he won the competition for the building. He was totally revolutionary...he was not following neoclassical architecture, and he was rejected by the academy. I felt comfortable with that."
Drawing inspiration from Charles Garnier’s Opéra Garnier within which the restaurant is located, Decq skillfully adapted the space within the limitations of its historical setting. One notable feature is a curved glass mezzanine, visible from the exterior and supported solely by silicon joints. This design exemplifies her ability to blend modern and historical elements.
The striking red color, which Decq affectionately calls "my red," first appeared in her library project at the University of Nantes in the 1990s. This distinctive shade has since become a hallmark of her work, prominently featured in projects like a high-rise tower in Barcelona and an office building in Lyon.
On founding a new type of architecture school
A pivotal moment in Odile Decq's career came in 2014 when she founded the Confluence Institute in Lyon, bringing her vision for architectural education to life. The institute emerged from her extensive teaching experience and her departure from the École d'Architecture in Paris. With support from Lyon's mayor and a developer, Decq converted an old factory into a 2,000-square-meter educational space. The curriculum draws inspiration from experimental models at institutions like the Cranbrook Academy of Art, aiming to adapt to the evolving needs of students and the architecture profession.
Under Decq's leadership, the Confluence Institute today offers a 350-square-meter studio space in Paris with round-the-clock access and dedicated workstations. This open-access policy encourages students to fully engage with their projects, allowing first-year students to work closely with their more advanced peers. Decq’s approach breaks down traditional hierarchies in architectural education, integrating new students quickly into a dynamic studio setting where they learn from and challenge each other.
"We have to adapt the school to the students, not to the teachers...it is like the Montessori School of Architecture."
The studio is equipped with cutting-edge tools, such as a robotic arm and sewing machines, which students can use independently, fostering responsibility and initiative. Faculty recruitment prioritizes flexibility and innovation. Each semester features a mix of a long studio, intensive workshops, and seminars, with topics and structures that evolve through collaboration with faculty and external experts. Past projects have included a lunar habitation workshop that featured a visit from a French astronaut, ensuring students gain diverse perspectives and stay current with the field's latest developments.
Despite operating on a limited budget and without external funding, the institute remains committed to growth and innovation, adapting to changing needs while maintaining financial sustainability. Gender diversity is a core principle of Decq’s philosophy, focusing on students' capabilities and potential rather than gender. Students benefit from interactions with around fifty different experts, providing them with a broad understanding of architecture. For Decq, studying architecture is about more than becoming an architect; it's about a deep engagement with the field and the exploration of personal interests, even if they lead to unconventional paths.
"If you want to become an architect, you must do professional studies. This school... is not one for professional studies. It's more wild than that because, as I tell my students, 'I don't want you to become a slave in architecture school, or in offices of architecture.' Some come here and say, 'My parents want me to become an architect,' and when they send the application letters, some say, 'I've wanted to become an architect since I was a child.' But as soon as they arrive, I say, 'Maybe you will not become an architect; it doesn't matter. You will become who you want with architecture, which is different.'"
