We are PCA-STREAM. We advocate an urban practice of care: for nature, cities, humans, and non-humans. The climatic and ecological context confronts us with the need to change the way we inhabit the Earth and build our cities.
We view cities as complex systems of built environments, infrastructures, mobilities, humans and nature. These urban metabolisms call for a city-making practice beyond traditional boundaries and knowledge. We work outside the conventional boundaries of city-making and operate with a keen fascination for arts, science, design, and research. We lead a reflexive practice where research and design cross-pollinate, leading us to realize our projects through interdisciplinary urban coalitions.
Think + Build
At PCA-STREAM, research and design work in symbiosis. The Stream Lab compiles and disseminates the forward-looking work of world-renowned experts through articles, podcasts, publications, and books. The research development team conducts applied research projects, and our projects act as testing grounds.
We nurture a culture of learning. The office boasts a dedicated knowledge hub at the heart of our office, The Stream Innovation Center. We host conferences, debates and training for urban thinkers and makers to explore together the city of tomorrow. In 2023, PCA-STREAM launched the first interdisciplinary research chair on the city-metabolism, led by the Université Paris Sciences & Lettres.
This intimate relationship with research nurtures our practice. Designing is like solving an equation: we start from a problem to deduce a built solution. We look at our projects with a researcher’s eye, producing spaces that are laboratories for urban futures.
Over 20 years of existence, design and exploration, the office has formed a tight-knit ecosystem of experts. They contribute to our work by taking part in the design, refining strategies, informing decisions, or bringing complementary perspectives. This dialogue places our projects at the forefront of knowledge and equips us to tackle our world’s pressing challenges.
Repairing cities
Ecological thinking is the matrix of our architecture. At PCA-STREAM, sustainability is seen as a dynamic system affecting all aspects of urban life, from environmental to socio-economic and political factors.
We are reaching our planetary boundaries; thus, we strongly believe in designing with what is already there. For over twenty years, PCA-STREAM has developed unique expertise in rehabilitating historic and dense urban fabric. We often choose to transform, hybridize and adapt rather than destroy. As each new addition to the built environment must be intentional, the notion of resilience in the face of changes in urban lifestyles and major crises accompanies our design.
We explore resiliency at every project scale, from urban strategy to the choice of construction materials. We consider the building’s entire life span, and we design projects like manifestos. Technical, technological, and user-based solutions are tested and implemented to achieve exemplary sustainability.