Francois Roche (born 1961, Paris) is a French architect, co-founder of the architecture studio, New-Territories including LabM4, Mindmachinemakingmyths, among others names. He studied in Chalon-sur-Saone, and afterward entered scientific preparatory school in Lyon. He left that school prior to graduating, and enrolled at the school of architecture of Versailles. He graduated from this school in 1988.
Hybrid Character
In 1989 he co-founded an organization, R&Sie(n), with architects Stephanie Lavaux and Jean Navarro. The sub-names have changed several times between 1989 and now: BoyeRoche (1989); Roche (1990); Roche & Francois (1991); Roche, Francois, Lewis, Huber, Roubaud, Perrin (1992); Roche, DSV & Sie (1993-97); R, DSV & Sie. P (1998); R & Sie. D/B: L (1999-2001); R&Sie(n) (2001 to present), adding a new one, titled [eIf/bʌt/c] since 2011. This transformation of his firm name over time serves to illustrate its hybrid character, to destabilize the figure of the architect and appear, according to French critic "iconoclast".
New Territories
New-Territories is fronted by an avatar and Roche has been secretive about his appearance, refusing to be photographed. However, in 2011 he suggested the avatar would be 'suicided' but it seems that this one refused the deal. New-territories closed the office in Paris en 2011 and moved in Asia, Thailand. Today Francois Roche is developing at the same time an apparatus of research "new-territories" including several labels, a production structure, via R&Sie (n) to develop and fabricate simultaneously architecture fragments and movies, and 'M4/mindmachinemakingmyths' a robotic fab LAB in Bangkok. He was Visiting Professor at Columbia-Gsapp, New York City, 2006-13, leading one of the "advanced studio". He has been a Visiting Professor at RMIT, Upenn, Michigan, among other places. He is a faculty member of EGS, Philosophy, Art & Critical Thought. From 1991 to 1994, Francois Roche took an active part in the newspaper Purple Prose, as an associate writer. A rebound of the Liberation newspaper entitled "the city died" in 1994 will come to enclose this period. In 1993 the French Institute of Architecture offered him the possibility of unfolding the whole of its first experiments under the title "Action, March 93" which would give an account of twenty of his projects.[13] A monographic work was to be published, now sold out "The shade of the chameleon".
The name R&Sie (n) is resulting from the contraction of the group, but it also refers to RSI, the event "Real, Symbolic, Imaginary" of Jacques Lacan in 1972. The pronunciation "heresy" which seems completely fortuitous, launched by Bruce Sterling via its Wired review in 2006, finishes by him (their) sticking to the skin. New-Territories has been invited in multiple sessions of Biennial of Architecture of Venice, in 1991, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2014, both in French pavilion (3 times) and international selection (5 times). Their works are actually visible at the First Biennial of Architecture of Chicago, 2015 and invited at the next Biennial of Istanbul. Their works are integrated in the Permanent Collection of SF-MOMA, Pompidou Center, CCA Montreal, FRAC Orleans, Mudam, TBA21 among others.
