BUILD Q2 2019

107 Q2 2019 BUILD Dec18445 Creating Innovative and Meaningful Architecture J.M. BONFILS ARCHITECTS are Architects, Urban designers and Interior Designers. Following their success in the BUILD awards, we profiled the company and spoke to Jean-Marc Bonfils who provided us with a detailed glimpse into the inner workings of the innovative firm. Looking ahead to what the future holds for the firm, the team at J.M. BONFILS ARCHITECTS will continue to deliver their ex- ceptional services and build upon their accomplishments, which include being awarded the accolade Best in Urban Design – Beirut in the BUILD Awards. Contact: M. Jean-Marc Bonfils Company: J.M. BONFILS ARCHITECTS Address: Samaha Bldg, General Adel Chehab Street, Furn el Cheback, Beirut, Lebanon Telephone: +961 1 287 016 / +961 1 287 017 Website: www.jmbonfils.com ince their inception, J.M. BONFILS ARCHITECTS have welcomed projects which offer complex and creative challenges, projects that combine a local sense of place with a global respect for sustainability, projects that deliver valuable long-term benefits and improve the relationship between both people and their environment. J.M. BONFILS ARCHITECTS is highly driven by a consistent philosophical approach. As a result, it aims to produce specifi- cally detailed buildings that are intimately connected to context and function. Which is why J.M. BONFILS ARCHITECTS works to achieve design solutions that continue to build on its reputa- tion for persistence, innovation and quality. Jean-Marc begins by going into detail about the areas the firm specialises within, the clients which they serve and how they work to ensure that the end result surpasses all expectations for the projects. “Even though we are a small firm we represent a wide variety of professional perspectives and experiences, and because we routinely consult with one other we can face complex challeng- es more than other firms. We deliver unexpected insights and solve unforeseen problems. “Design emerges from a thoughtful collaborative process tied to the real world. As such, we encourage ourselves to get involved in that process, by raising questions and asking our clients to challenge our assumptions. In addition to this, we place each aspect of a project in the next larger context, ensuring that it connects to the whole.” When discussing the firm’s award-winning designs, Jean-Marc is keen to highlight the qualities which enables the company to be the success that we know of it today. “In our design approach, we believe in context, in letting the na- ture and culture of a site inform design ideas. Design carries the responsibility of knowing the ecology of a site and its surround- ings, understanding its traditions and materials, and combining them in ways that extend use and life. This applies especially to the overlap of the human-made and the natural, of art and ecology. Without presuming to recreate traditional cultures, we continue to learn from their long histories of combining built environments with natural systems.” S