Patrick Bouchain is a French architect who designs situations as much as he designs buildings, taking on a number of other roles including that of developer, political advisor, site manager, fundraiser and performer. Most of his projects begin with establishing a network of interested people, collaborators, residents, local government officials, neighbourhood groups etc. Once this network is in place, the site is activated socially, usually through opening a small space that functions as a restaurant, site office and consultation area where passers-by and interested people can find out about the project, give their views, or simply watch a film. This initial phase creates relationships between the architects, builders and local people and creates uses for the site before anything permanent is built. Through such an approach Bouchain's projects are sustainable in the real sense of the word, ensuring that what is finally constructed is appropriate and useful for the site and makes good use of resources. Many of the projects are on an urban scale and include the reuse and refurbishments of old industrial buildings through minimum intervention.
With a background in theatre, circuses and urban festivals Bouchain approaches architecture as event, creating maximum impact through a mixture of illusion, clever use of materials and innovative programming. Collaborations play a large role in this type of alternative urban planning, Bouchain has worked with the artists Daniel Buren and Claes Oldenburg. On another occasion he invited Malian builders to construct an acoustic barrier from oil barrels; wherever possible, his projects employ a mixture of specialists rather than a single contractor.
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