about_IFADUR SAS d'architecture

Company Profile

Ifadur SAS d’architecture (IFAD) originated in the 1970s and it was founded by Mr. Thierry Melot, a famous French architect, the winner of the French Knight of Honor and the owner of Breton Architecture Prize. It is an integrated design office engaged in architecture design, urban planning and landscape design. The Shanghai office in China was awarded the license in Shanghai in 2015 by Ms. Ruggeri, Director of the Movable Property Department of the French Ministry of Culture.

Over the past 50 years in the industry, IFAD has completed nearly a thousand projects in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific area. While leading the team to complete outstanding performance, Mr. Thierry Melot has created many urban theories, such as the ten principles of sustainable development and the city in the shape of a loop. The firm is committed to respecting the characteristics of each piece of land, based on a century of European urban experience, and to meeting the needs of customers and users through unique and creative spatial features.

In recent years, IFAD has pioneered the theory of "attractive urban spaces", and for each project of the firm, three steps must be successfully achieved: first, based on the research and accumulation of cities in Europe, Asia and Africa, to eliminate all known urban ills; the second is to rely on a large number of international and domestic practice cases to implant innovative lifestyles into the project; the third is to dig deeper into the local culture and to create a tailor-made charming space with the spirit of place. On the basis of addressing urban functions and operational needs, the cultural characteristics are used to shape the distinctiveness of the space.

Mr. Thierry Melot is the chief designer of the firm. He has led the team to complete a number of major international projects, including: the overall transformation plan of the central business district of La Défense, France, the urban renewal of the old central district of Lyon, Bahrain new city tourism strategic planning and reclamation planning, BP French headquarters design, Senegal black Culture Museum, etc.; the main projects that have won the bid or have been implemented in China including: Zhuhai Hengqin New District overall urban design and key area landscape design, Beijing Songzhuang cultural and creative industry cluster strategic planning, Hefei Binhu New District Urban Complex Planning and Architectural Design, Dongguan Marina Bay Landscape Promenade Urban Design, and Nanjing Garden Expo Garden Landscape Design, etc.

After more than ten years of in-depth project participation in China, Mr. Thierry Melot and Mr. Liguo Li led the team to deeply integrate the French ecological low-carbon, open blocks, place creation, scale control and other urban design concepts with the actual situation in China to ensure the French style concept is truly implemented in China. IFAD has three offices around the world, namely Paris, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Each firm focuses on the creative potential of each designer, eliminates repetitive and non-original space design, and gives each piece of space its unique attractiveness.

Development Milestone

1970 s

AFRICA

FINDING THE SOUL OF THE LAND

The early partners of the firm were deeply attracted by the characteristic landscape and culture of the African land. They believed that the modernity of the building should not be at the expense of the local culture and surrounding environmental characteristics. Therefore, every project of the firm during this period was looking for the soul of the land where it is located to interpret it into the architectural space. The main representative works include: black Culture Museum, Dakar University, planning of Senegal's new capital, etc.

1980 s

EUROPE

THE CHALLENGE OF URBAN RENEWAL

The European urban centers in the 1980s were facing dilapidation and pollution after industrial relocation. How can we make the absolute advantage location of the old city use its value again? Through the ecological treatment of pollution and the micro renewal of the neighborhood, the office has given the old city a new charm. The main representative projects are: urban design for the two rivers in Lyon Confluence, La Défense CBD reconstruction plan, BP France headquarters, etc.

1990 s

CENTRAL AND WEST ASIA

LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TOWN DEVELOPMENT

Abundant oil reserves gave the Middle East ambitions to flourish during this period, and a series of new towns and large-scale project developments were staged here. As a main member of the French expert group, the firm used in-depth analysis and formal interpretations of local architectural characteristics, and gave a space design that not only meets the needs of economy and rapid construction, but also meets the local living habits and cultural belonging. The main representative works are: Bahrain New City Reclamation Plan, Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Center, Doha Medical City,etc.

2000 s

EAST ASIA

COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

China, which has undergone reform and opened up, has become the protagonist of urbanization in this period, and the world has begun to enter the era of sustainable development. How can we still reserve fexibility for future development in the process of rapid urbanization? Based on the urban theories and experiences accumulated in the past few decades, Ifad has pioneered the ten principles of sustainable development. It not only respects today's rapid development, but is also responsible for the living environment of the next generation. Representative works include the urban and landscape design of Hengqin New District, the architectural design of the urban complex in the Binhu New District of Hefei, and the urban design of the Dongguan Marina Bay Landscape Corridor.

IFAD Team

“For architects, there are no secrets other than work.”

Thierry Melot

Partner, Chairman
Architect, Urban designer

“A city is the most accomplished embodiment of a society and a civilization, and architecture is the realization of dreams.”

Alain Sarfati

Partner, Chief Architect of SAREA Master Studio
Architect, Urban designer

“When plant science became the core of his career, the gardener brought irreplaceable credibility and added value to urban projects.”

Thierry Huau

Partner, Chief Landscape Architect of ATH Master Studio
Landscape Architect, Urban Planner

“Urban public space should not be the survivors after maximizing the benefits of the surrounding plots, but a place where the vitality of the city is displayed and the development of surrounding plots is restricted.”

Liguo Li

Partner, General Manager of China
Architect, Urban Planner