Nicolas Michelin


Nicolas Michelin is a French architect and urban planner. After joining forces with Finn Geipel to form LABFAC in 1985, he went on to found ANMA in 2000, which he currently runs in collaboration with his partners Michel Delplace and Cyril Trétout.

Biography

Born in 1955 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Nicolas Michelin studied physics and mathematics at Paris VI University before beginning his studies in architecture at the École d’Architecture de Paris-Conflans from where he graduated from in 1980.
In 1985 Nicolas Michelin, along with fellow architect Finn Geipel, founded the architecture firm LABFAC, working between Paris and Berlin. Some of the most notable projects from this collaboration included the École des Beaux Arts in Limoges and the Théâtre de Quimper.
In 2000, he founded ANMA - Agence Nicolas Michelin & Associés, which provides innovative solutions in architecture, urban design and landscaping. He developed ANMA's approach which is based on five guiding principles: ultra-contextuality, lightness, "natural" energy savings, adaptability and the extraordinary ordinary. All of ANMA's designs are unique and tailored to each project's specific needs.
Nicolas Michelin is leading the way in the field of “ultra-contextuality”. He coined this term in order to refer to the seamless integration of buildings into their surroundings. According to ANMA's founder, a good building "is designed around existing forces, magnifies the site and places greenery in the foreground". The firm's projects, all of which apply the concept of ultra-contextuality and the genius loci, seek to enhance the surrounding area by revealing their singularity. The combination of these two factors allows Michelin to create what he calls the “extraordinary ordinary”, buildings which "initially give the impression of the ordinary in an unusual sense, but which at a second glance reveal a singular and contemporary design".
Nicolas Michelin has written and overseen more than 7 publications. In 2005 he wrote Nouveau Paris, la ville et ses possibles, the catalogue accompanying the eponymous exhibition at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal. With Nicolas Michelin providing the scientific curatorship and Toyo Ito the scenography, the exhibition explored possible future developments in Paris, bearing in mind the requirements of sustainable development and new urban lifestyles.
Between 2006 and 2010, Michelin published five other books: Avis: propos sur l’architecture, la ville, l’environnement, L’Aventure de la transformation d’une halle, des farines à l’université ; and Cinq sur cinq – Dix projets sur mesure, which analyses five architectural and urban projects completed by ANMA. In 2008, following AGORA, the biennial architectural fair in Bordeaux, Nicolas Michelin wrote Alerte! Et si on pensait un peu plus à elle?, a manifesto in favour of sustainable architecture and urban design. In 2010, on the occasion of ANMA's 10-year anniversary, his book Attitudes was published, bringing together his most recent articles over past decade.
Nicolas Michelin has been active in a number of governmental and associative bodies. Michelin has been appointed as an Expert in the following government groups: the Board of 1% Artistique, a reporter for the Délégation aux arts plastiques and the Commission Nationale De La Commande Publique. Between 1985 and 2000 he directed the École and Centre d’Art Contemporain in Reuil-Malmaison. He also founded the "La Maréchalerie", within the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles, and was the head director between the years of 2000 and 2009. La Maréchalerie is an arts centre dedicated to research on the role of art in the urban environment. He has been invited to speak at many universities including Columbia University, the University of Montreal and Paris I University. In 2008 he was the general curator for AGORA in Bordeaux. The exhibition dealt with the intersecting themes of architecture, urban design and sustainable development. At this occasion he also published his most recent book Alerte, et si on pensait un peu plus à elle?. In 2010, in celebration of his firm's 10-year anniversary, he organised a 4-day event to present a selection of the projects designed by ANMA during its first decade. He also used the occasion to host an exhibition featuring debates on ecology, the city and contemporary art. In November 2011, at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, he chaired the Entretiens du Patrimoine et de l’architecture discussions, which in 2012 were held on the theme "Heritage and Architecture of Sustainable Cities".

Awards