IN SITU ARCHITECTURE is an architectural firm run by two associated DPLG architects, Nicolas Vernoux-Thélot and Jérôme Lanici. The firm works on a wide range of programmes: housing, hotels, offices, facilities, mainly in France and occasionally abroad.
IN SITU ARCHITECTURE won the Prix grand public de l'architecture in 2010 and the European 40 architects under 40 award in 2016. IN SITU works in close collaboration with the RDP laboratory, Reproduction and Development of Plants, which is one of the biology laboratories of the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS. RDP is one of the world leaders in interdisciplinary analysis of plant development.
IN SITU ARCHITECTURE is the 2016 winner of the European 40 under 40 architects award. Its Nianing church project is a winner of the international Architecture Masterprize 2019, Global Architecture and Design Award 2019 and nominated for the Green Solution Award, Carré d'Or and the AFEX World Grand Prize in 2020.
IN SITU LAB IN SITU LAB is a technical and research consultancy led by two partners, Nicolas Vernoux-Thélot, architect DPLG, and Teva Vernoux, Doctor of Plant Biology. IN SITU LAB has expertise in the fields of :
- the design of new materials, passive devices and construction systems with a very low environmental footprint
- the design of biomimetic methods and software tools to assist in the design of passive and low carbon building forms;
- and more generally, sustainable architectural and urban design (resilience, self-sufficiency, natural light, bioclimatism, biomimicry, recycling...)
IN SITU LAB is a subsidiary of IN SITU ARCHITECTURE
Some video clips
Join the Vernoux brothers in tandem on this podcast:
BIOMIMETIC ARCHITECTURE: THE NEW BREATH OF BUILDING
For this new episode: biomimicry & architecture. Or when our buildings are inspired by living things to better integrate into their environment.
Two brothers, an architect and a biologist, are combining their research efforts to develop solutions for the construction and renovation of energy-efficient buildings that are directly inspired by nature. An interview to find out how biomimicry can bring architecture into the era of ecological and energy transition.
To be listened to without moderation here
The portrait page in the Biomim'BOOK 2021 :
The Biomim'Galerie boards dedicated to IN SITU Architecture research work:
News: Nianing church recognised and nominated :
- The Awards :
AFEX / March 2020 / The building is selected as a finalist for the AFEX World Grand Prix
International Design Award / January 2020 / Honorable mention for the church in Nianing.
ARCHITECTURE MASTERPRIZE / September 2019 / Nianing Church is a winner: CHURCH NIANING - Winner in Architectural Design / Misc. Architecture
Global Award and Design Award / August 2019 / Nianing church is a winner: First Award | Category: Cultural (Built)
Faith & Form / July 2019 / US newspaper awards Nianing church 2019 excellence award: 2019 International Awards Program for Religious Art & Architecture
- The Press speaks about it:
THE MONITOR / March 2020 / The newspaper announces the 10 nominees for the AFEX World Grand Prix and begins its ranking with the church in Nianing: Afex Grand Prix 2020: the 10 nominated operations
CNRS JOURNAL / January 2020 / Article on the work of IN SITU and RDP, illustrated by the church of Nianing: When architecture imitates nature
ECOLOGIK / January 2020 / The magazine publishes a full page on the church of Nianing: A church in the shape of a shell by In Situ Architecture
THE WORLD / December 2019 / Nianing Church featured in a large 3-page article on biomimicry: How to build sustainable cities inspired by nature
THE MONITOR / October 2019 / A full page on the church of Nianing : Senegal - A church inspired by the living
CONSTRUCTION 21 / September 2019 / Special mention to the church in Nianing and article on passive ventilation in a hot climate: The context of the church in Nianing
FOR SCIENCE / May-June 2019 / Double page on the Nianing church and its bio-inspired passive ventilation principle from the Senegalese termite mound. The biomimetic approach and the partnership between IN SITU ARCHITECTURE and the RDP laboratory are highlighted: Church, termites and shells
The research programme :
A MULTI-SCIPLINARY TEAM: a unique partnership between an architectural firm and a biology laboratory that brings together architects, biologists, engineers and researchers in a transversal manner.
TAKING INSPIRATION FROM NATURE FOR BIOMIMETIC ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
Plants are our main source of inspiration. Their analysis allows us to understand and reproduce the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity in terms of ecological resilience, robustness, productivity, energy efficiency, stability, self-organisation, intra-population communication, etc.
Depending on the climate and their geographical location, buildings are designed according to forms adapted to environmental stimuli: sunlight, light, wind, temperature, humidity, etc.
The implementations are designed to avoid waste and to use simple and economical technologies with the aim of achieving optimal and sustainable energy efficiency.
Like plants, we conceive biomimetic architecture as a system that optimises its form and habitability in response to geoclimatic constraints.
CASE STUDY: A bio-inspired architecture based on plant phyllotaxis:
The layout of the buildings and their orientation are based on the same organisational principle as the plants. Like leaves, the flats all benefit from direct sunlight. This layout was calculated by a biomimetic algorithm that optimises the density of the building and the solar gain.
The benefit is twofold: it reduces energy consumption by using the passive energy of the sun and increases the health of the users by regulating their biorhythm.
INNOVATIVE TOOLS :
- Modelling of biological systems
- Transfer to an architectural, urban or territorial model
- Bioclimatic parametric design
- 3D generative algorithm
- 3D environmental impact assessment
- 3D energy simulation
Contact:
Nicolas Vernoux-Thélot, founder
contact@insitu-architecture.net
about the Biomim'City Lab :
The Biomim'City Lab is a working and prospective group led by a college of experts aiming to promote and intensify innovative collaborative approaches applying the principles and methodologies of biomimicry, in the service of the reinvention of virtuous, regenerative and resilient cities, inspired and designed by and for living things.
A collective initiative whose founding members are : ICADE, CEEBIOS, ELAN, RENAULT, EIFFAGE, NOBATEK INEF4, BECHU ET ASSOCIES, IN SITU ARCHITECTURE, TANGRAM ARCHITECTS, NEWCORP CONSEIL.
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