Choosing small scale

ALD: I started the practice in 2014, after working at Bruther Architecture and Hardel Le Bihan Architectes. Those experiences allowed me to understand the realities of architectural practice, but they also made me realise that I was looking for a different way of working. I wanted greater freedom in choosing projects, exploring architectural ideas, and maintaining a closer relationship with the design process from the first drawings to the completed building.

I was particularly interested in working on houses, apartments, and private projects because this scale allows a much more direct relationship with materials, clients, and construction. In larger offices, projects often involve long processes, larger teams, and increasingly complex regulations, which can create distance between the initial idea and the final result. I wanted to work at a scale where experimentation could remain more immediate and where decisions could be tested and developed directly.

PG: I already knew Anne-Laure’s work and joined her practice in 2018 after graduating. We officially founded Gemme in 2024, so we are never quite sure which date to consider as the beginning of the practice. When I joined, Anne-Laure was still working alone, and for me it was the ideal environment to begin learning the profession. Architecture is something you truly learn through practice, and working in a small office allowed me to be involved in every stage of a project. I could draw details, meet contractors and craftspeople, follow construction on site, and understand how architectural ideas become reality. It gave me a complete understanding of the process, from the first concept to the finished space.

ALD: Over time, this way of working became central to the identity of the practice. The scale of our projects allows us to remain closely connected to every aspect of the design, from the overall architectural concept to the smallest elements. It also allows us to move naturally between architecture, interior design, and furniture design, because we do not see these disciplines as separate.

PG: This direct relationship with the entire process is something we still value today. Developing each element of a project ourselves allows us to create a complete environment, a coherent world, where every detail carefully aligns with the overall experience of the space.

Beginning from detail

PG: Things began to change around five years ago, with Les Sciernes, the conversion of an 18th Century auberge (restaurant and hotel) into a monastery, located in rural Switzerland. The combination of private living and shared spaces was particularly compelling to us. The brief requested to develop 10 nun cells, a restaurant, a library and workshops to produce soap, food products, paintings and wooden icons. The story behind Les Sciernes is quite unusual. Initially, the client was looking for an architect to design windows and draft a building warrant. We suggested developing two proposals: one based on her vision and another drawing on our own approach. From there, the project gradually evolved. 

ALD: Rather than designing the building as a whole, we started with the smallest unit: the nun's cell. We asked ourselves how a nun would live, sleeping, reading, praying. To refine its details with the joiner, we built a full-scale model of the cell, testing its design before repeating it across the ten units.

PG: Another challenge was that every room had to be identical. Each sister receives the same space, but it was also important that she could feel at home. We introduced a functional fixed timber element repeated in every cell and a curtain behind which each sister could organise themselves in a personal way. This project required us to expand beyond architecture to design almost every element of the building. We designed the furniture, the lighting, the tables, and many other interior components. It is something we now want to pursue in all of our projects, gradually orienting the practice in that direction. 

ALD: The choice of timber was also closely linked to its natural and isolated site. We selected spruce, a local species commonly found in the region. However, the Mother Superior initially had very different ideas about the material palette.

PG: Yes, the Mother Superior envisioned a much more decorative aesthetic, with dark oak and red marble. We spent a long time discussing the project with her and explaining why we believed a different approach would be more appropriate. One advantage of a long project is that it gives time to build trust. Over the years, we gained her trust. We invited her to Paris to visit some of our completed projects to explain our approach.

ALD: There was one apartment she particularly enjoyed so much, that she wanted the monastery to resemble it. Although it was encouraging, it was also a challenge because a project cannot simply be replicated from another. For us, context is always the starting point of a project, ultimately shaping the final architectural response. What works in a Parisian apartment could not simply be transferred to a monastery in a remote Swiss mountain village. Helping the client understand this aspect became an important part of the design process.

A house built from a tree

PG: Most of our projects today are houses and apartments, particularly in Paris. One of the challenges of working mainly at this scale is avoiding repetition, whether in terms of programme, solutions, or material choices. For us, the way to keep the practice stimulating is to work across different contexts. A house in Paris, another in Switzerland, or another in the south of France will each generate a different response because the location, landscape, and way of living are never the same. This diversity is essential to our practice and is why projects such as the monastery or the house in Montreuil are so important to us.

ALD: The Montreuil project was particularly interesting because of its unique setting between the city and the countryside. Located within the historic Murs à Pêches landscape, the site is characterised by long stone walls traditionally used for fruit cultivation. The garden itself is extremely narrow and elongated, approximately five metres wide and fifty metres long. While the neighbourhood combines industrial and rural qualities, we wanted the house to respond to this contrast through a dialogue between refined and raw materials. One example of this approach was the decision to expose the concrete rib-and-block floor rather than conceal it beneath conventional finishes. Leaving the material visible created a direct relationship between different textures and levels of refinement throughout the house.

PG: One material became central to the entire project: a large sipo tree trunk that Anne-Laure discovered at a nearby timber yard. This single piece of wood became the starting point for many design decisions. The windows, doors, furniture, and several other elements were all produced from this one tree.

ALD: What fascinated us was the possibility of using the entire material and allowing the wood itself to guide the architecture. The trunk was approximately six metres long and almost two metres in diameter. Coincidentally, the house was also six metres wide, meaning that once prepared, its usable length corresponded almost exactly to the width of the building. Rather than adapting the material entirely to the project, we adapted parts of the project to the material.

PG: The relationship with the existing landscape was equally important. At the edge of the site, there was an existing stone wall that we decided to reopen. We carefully dismantled and reconstructed the original stonework, preserving as much of the existing material as possible. Creating this opening was essential because it established a visual connection with the surrounding landscape and linked the house back to the network of paths and gardens that characterise the neighbourhood.

ALD: The project also became an opportunity to experiment with materials and construction methods. The floor, made from reclaimed marble offcuts combined with concrete, was inspired by terrazzo but used larger pieces of marble rather than small fragments. The different densities and hardness of the materials made the finishing process extremely challenging, requiring experimentation and craftsmanship. The house was also an exploration of ecological construction. We used hemp-concrete blocks for the walls, combining structure, insulation, and natural materials within a single assembly. The exposed ceilings, timber openings, flooring, and interior elements all became opportunities to explore new ideas. Although this approach made the project more complex, the process of testing, adapting, and learning became an essential part of the architecture itself.

From the door handle to the roof

ALD: Context is always the starting point of our projects, and it is probably one of the reasons we never become tired of our practice. Each site, programme, and situation generates a different architectural response, allowing every project to develop its own identity. People often ask whether there is a recognisable style or signature across our work, but we do not think our projects are connected by a formal aesthetic language. What links them is rather a way of thinking, drawing, and approaching design. Context influences everything: the materials we use, the craftspeople we collaborate with, and ultimately the character of the architecture itself. For example, we are currently working on a house in Romania built entirely in timber using local techniques and materials. The context naturally guides the project towards a specific response.

PG: There are nevertheless some constants in the way we work. We are consistently drawn to simple materials such as concrete, stone, and wood, and we are more interested in exploring their inherent qualities than adding decorative effects. Concrete, for example, can produce very different results depending on the aggregate, colour of the stone, or size of the gravel. Wood offers a similar richness, with countless species, textures, finishes, and possibilities of transformation. It can be brushed, sculpted, carved, or left completely raw. With every project, we discover new ways of working with these materials and explore different relationships between them.

ALD: This interest in materials is closely connected to our desire to design projects as complete environments. We enjoy working simultaneously at the scale of the detail and the scale of the building as a whole, from the door handle to the roof. We do not see architecture, interiors, and furniture as separate disciplines, but as interconnected elements that contribute to the experience of a place. This is why we often begin projects from the inside out. Rather than starting with the volume or façade, we first consider how people will live in the spaces: their daily routines, views, atmosphere, and relationships between rooms. Once these questions are understood, the architecture develops naturally from them.

PG: The monastery project was an important moment in this approach because it allowed us to explore this level of detail more deeply. We worked extensively with carved timber and collaborated closely with joiners to understand the craftsmanship behind the technique. Initially, we considered using carved wood more extensively, but after experiencing the time and skill required to produce even a small element, we understood how important it was to use it carefully. In the end, we concentrated the technique on specific details, such as door handles and selected architectural elements. This allowed us to preserve the richness of the craftsmanship while keeping it appropriate to the scale of the project.hg

Objects belonging to architecture

ALD: Whenever we renovate an apartment or a house, we almost always design custom furniture as part of the project. When creating our website, we decided to dedicate a specific section to these objects because we realised that this aspect of our work was not always visible. Clients often assume that elements such as kitchens, bathroom furniture, wardrobes, or built-in storage are designed by manufacturers or contractors, when in reality we draw and develop many of these integrated pieces ourselves. These objects are not independent design pieces, but elements that belong to a larger architectural project. However, through this process, we discovered how much we enjoy working at this level of detail and wanted to make this dimension of our practice more apparent.

PG: These elements also allow each project to become more unique. In Paris, many apartments share similar characteristics, particularly within Haussmannian buildings, and residential interiors are often influenced by similar contemporary trends. The challenge for us is to create something specific within these familiar frameworks, and designing custom elements is one way to achieve this. The monastery project reinforced this interest, as it gave us the opportunity to design lighting fixtures, tables, chairs, and many other elements. We discovered how much we enjoy working at this scale and how these details contribute to the overall atmosphere of a place. 

At the same time, we do not really see furniture as something separate from architecture. Our design process is always connected to context, so it would be difficult for us to design an object without a relationship to a place, a material, or a project. We are beginning to explore more independent furniture and lighting pieces, but they still emerge from the same architectural approach. Materials themselves can become a form of context, guiding the design of future objects. For now, our work remains closely connected to architecture, with kitchens, bathrooms, storage systems, and built-in elements considered as integral parts of the space.

ALD: There is a quote by Charlotte Perriand that reflects our way of thinking: she explained that furniture should not be designed as isolated objects, but as elements belonging to an architectural environment. We feel very close to this idea. For us, designing a chair is not only about the object itself, but about how it contributes to a spatial experience and interacts with the surrounding architecture.

PG: Ultimately, we still consider ourselves architects rather than designers. Furniture is not the final objective; it exists to support the project as a whole. Whether we design a table, a light, or an integrated element, the intention remains architectural: to create coherence, atmosphere, and a complete experience of inhabiting a space.