François Roche (born 1961) is a French architect. Roche is the co-founder and director of R&Sie(n) Architects and the research architectural firm, New Territories/M4.

Early life and education

François Roche was born in 1961 in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Roche studied science and math at University, but, decided in 1981 to switch his degree to architecture. His interest in the sciences would go on to influence his architectural work. He spent time in the Algerian desert during his time in college, deciding whether he wanted to complete his degree in architecture. In 1987, he graduated from the

École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

Career

Roche founded his first studio in Paris in 1989. He expanded to incorporate in 1994, after his first solo show "Action" at IFA (Institut Francais d'Architecture), Stephanie Lavaux as a partner, naming the studio R&Sie(n), the "R" in the name is for Roche, the "S" is for Stephanie, and is pronounced similarly to the word "heresy" in French, but also "RSI" in reference to Real Symbolic Imaginary of J. Lacan. The studio specializes in architectural "investigations" and "scenarios" with the goal of connecting the relationship between humans and buildings. Roche would go on to create New Territories/M4, which houses R&Sie, along with other installation, architectural, and digital design projects, with partner Camille Lacadée. Since the 1990s, Roche has been represented by an androgynous, digitally created

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

named s/he. Roche describes s/he as "a kind of doppelgänger, a Siamese twin, the mask of Mishima, an avatar of Vishnu. Androgynous in appearance and with a queer attitude, s/he has enabled me for twenty-five years to maintain a singular voice, coming from nowhere, emerging from territories that abandoned the posture of authority, of discourse, and of academia." In 2004, R&Sie(n) created ''DustyRelief'' for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bangkok, Thailand. The piece was designed to absorb the city smog, which would then cause the structure to grow. The piece was inspired by

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

's ''Dust Breeding''. The project was canceled due to a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. While speaking in at an event in London in 2010, Roche shared that he would be "happy" if somebody went into one of his buildings or designs, got lost, and abandons need of exit, in reference to S. Brussolo novel (Trajets et Itineraires de l'oubli, 1981). That same year, Roche ended his professional relationship with Lavaux and began working with Camille Lacadée. In 2011, the avatar used to represent the R&Sie(n) committed "suicide" only to re-emerge in 2017, to perform his-her first solo retrospective at Frac Orléans. Around 2013, Roche opened a studio in the

Talat Noi Talat Noi or Talad Noi (, ) is a historic neighbourhood in Bangkok. It roughly occupies the area of the subdistrict of the same name in Samphanthawong District. Located on the periphery of Bangkok's Chinatown, Talat Noi has been home to various e ...

neighborhood of Bangkok. Before relocating from Paris to Bangkok, Roche transformed his Paris house in a project called ''I'm Lost in Paris''. The project involved cultivating bacteria which turned into vegetation covering the house. Roche and Lacadée launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

to raise funds to an "experimental hybrid building" called MMYST. The project was to be built by robots in Thailand. In May 2015, Roche, Lacadée, and

Pierre Huyghe Pierre Huyghe (born 11 September 1962) is a French contemporary artist, who works in a variety of media from films and sculptures to public interventions and living systems. He lives and works in Santiago de Chile. Early life and education Pier ...

to create "What Could Happen," an "experimental euthanasia expedition" in the Swiss Alps. In October 2015, he lectured with Lacadée at the University of Michigan's Taubman College. That same month, Roche and Lacadée exhibited ''#mythomaniaS'' at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. The exhibit included videos of "architectural scenarios" around the world. Roche's professional partnership with Lacadée ended in 2015. In 2016, Frac Centre-Val de Loire held a retrospective, titled ''S/he would rather do fiction maker'' of Roche's work with New Territories/M4. Roche's work has been exhibited at Mori Art Museum, Columbia University, the

Pompidou Center The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and other museums and galleries. Roche has exhibited in the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

multiple times, including in 2004's ''Metamorph'' International Architecture Exposition; the 2008 International Architecture Exposition in which R&Sie exhibited their "bi -bo s"; the 2014 "Time Space Existence: Made in Europe" biennale; and 2018 at the Bembo Pavilion and the Lithuanian Pavilion. Roche has also participated as a panelist at the 2012 United States pavilion. His 2010 installation, ''Building Which Never Dies'', was partially confiscated by Italian police for containing

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

. The incident caused an entire section of the Biennale to be closed for an entire day.

Themes and concepts in Roche's work

Roche's works often represent the divergence of science, architecture, philosophy,

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

genetics, art, identity, and

biopolitics Biopolitics is a concept popularized by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in the mid-20th century. At its core, biopolitics explores how governmental power operates through the management and regulation of a population's bodies and lives. ...

. However, through the avatar, Roche explores philosophical concepts of the

LGBTQI LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

community, communications, and philosophy. In describing his beliefs and work, Roche often cites fiction and non-fiction, ranging from

Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, ; ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Sigmund Freud, Freud", Lacan gave The Seminars of Jacques Lacan, year ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

to Paul B. Preciado. Roche describes s/he and New Territories as "tool to knot and unknot realities" in the spirit of

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

. The Frac Centre-Val de Loire calls Roche's early work as veering "towards hybridization and "hyperlocalism", aimed at distorting reality and bringing out its most significant unusualness." In 1996, Roche started using digital processes to create his work. Roche's later works also incorporate robotics complemented by writing and lectures.

Reception

Roche has been called an "elusive" architect-artist by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', a " provocateur" by the ''

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

'', and "always provocative" by ''

The Architect's Newspaper ''The Architect's Newspaper'' is an architectural publication that covers the United States in monthly printed issues and online. The paper was founded in 2003 by William Menking, editor-in-chief, and Diana Darling, publisher, to bring architect ...

''. ''The New York Times'' describes Roche's work as "not buildings exactly, but scientific experiments." In France he has been called an ''ANARCHITECT'' in French newspaper ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

''.

Monographs

*2018 / #digitaldisobediences_s/he would rather do Fiction Maker (Frac-Centre) *2015 / mythomaniaS. *2014 / Heretical-Machinism. *2011 / Architecture des Humeurs. Catalogue on research-exhibition. PDF 2mo *2010 / New-Territories-R&Sie(n). *2010 / BioReboot. *2007 / Fiction Scripts. *2006 / Spoiled Climate. *2005 / I,ve heard About. *2004 / Corrupted Biotopes. *2003 / T(e)en Years After. *2000 / Mutation @morphes. *1994 / The Shadow of Chameleon. All monographies/ texts / article are public and free downloadable

Academia

Roche and S/he were involved in Guest Professor position among other places and chronologically at Bartlett-UCL-London 2000, at UPenn-Philadelphia 2006 and 2015–016, at GSAPP-Columbia-NYC 2006–2017, at USC-Los Angeles 2009–11, at RMIT-Melbourne 2012–2017, and few years at IKA (2017) and Angewante-Vienna (2009), AFAA-Bratislava (2018). He taught 'processes' in 2023 at KHM-Koln, and his a permanent member of EGS _ Division of Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought since 2012

Notable exhibitions

*1993: ''Action'', Solo exhibition Institut Francais d'Architecture *1999-2000: ''@namorphous changes'', Columbia University (New York), UCLA (Los Angeles) *1996: ''le monolythe fracture'', Venice Architecture Biennale, French Pavillon *2000: ''aqua alta 1.0/2.0'', Venice Architecture Biennale, International and French Pavillon *2001: ''In any way, it's already happened'', ICA, London *2003: ''Asphalt Spot'',

Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial (ETAT) is an international contemporary art festival held once every three years in Niigata prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The festival was created by the Tokyo commercial gallery Art Front Gallery (AFG) ...

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

, Japan *2004: ''metamorph'', Venice Architecture Biennale, International Pavillon *2004: ''Frac Collection'', Mori Art Museum, Tokyo *2004: ''L’exposition Architectures non standard'',

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, Paris, France *2005: "I’ve heard about (Modèles de sécrétion)", as New Territories, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France *2006: Frac Centre-Val de Loire, Orléans, France *2006: ''terra incognita'', Tate Modern, London, 2006, with Pierre Huyghe *2008: Venice Architecture Biennale, International Italian Pavillon *2009: ''radical nature'', Barbican, London *2009: ''Lost in Paris'', Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris, France *2010:Venice Architecture Biennale, International Pavillon (@isotropic uranium installation) *2009: ''green building'', Louisiana (Denmark, 2009), *2010: ''An Architecture in Moods'', solo exhibition,

Mori Art Museum The is a contemporary art museum founded by the real estate developer Minoru Mori. It is located in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex, a commercial, cultural, and residential mega-complex in Tokyo, Japan. The museum's ...

, Tokyo, Japan *2010: ''L’architecture des humeurs'', solo exhibition, Le Laboratoire, Paris, France *2015: ''#mythomaniaS'', Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago, Illinois *2016: ''S/he would rather do Fiction maker'', retrospective, Frac Centre-Val de Loire, Orléans, France *2016: ''Are we human'', Istanbul Biennale *2019: ''The Arts and the Future'', Mori Tower, Tokyo, Japan, 'an Architecture of MOODs' *2020: ''Escape Routes'', ''FortuneShel(tell)er'', Biennale Bangkok, *2021: ''Ecologies and Politics of the Living'',

Vienna Biennale The Vienna Biennale is a biennial international art exhibition that takes places in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 2006. History The first Vienna Biennale was held in October 2006.Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, Paris, France *2003: "Mosquito Bottleneck Project, Trinidad", with R&Sie, SFMOMA, San Francisco, California *2003: "R&Sie(n), Water Flux (unbuilt) : Rendering of the structure",

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; ) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street) and rue Saint-Ma ...

, Montreal *2005: "I’ve heard about (Modèles de sécrétion)", selected works, as New Territories, Mudam, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg *2007: "Heshotmedown, Demilitarized Zone, Korea", with R&Sie, SFMOMA, San Francisco, California *2017: Multiples Scenarios with Drawing, Models, Movies, Texts in a donation to Frac Centre, Orléans, at the occasion of retrospective ''S/he would rather do fiction maker'' *2021: ''MythomaniaS'', acquired by Frac Centre, Orléans, serie of architecture cases studies and movies *2018: ''mind scape'', as New Territories, Echigo-Tsumari Art Field, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Personal life

Roche lives in Bangkok. Roche goes to great lengths to avoid having his photograph published, a concept he has compared to

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

or Margiela.

References

External links

*
"François Roche gave free accesses to three of his books"
from World Architecture
"Conversation: Roche, Ellis & Manaugh"
from ''Icon''
Interview with François Roche
from the ''Australian Design Review'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Francois 1961 births 21st-century French architects 20th-century French architects Architects from Paris French expatriates in Thailand Living people