Development
Julia Capp
development [at] rdai.fr
Materials library
Carole Petitjean
materiautheque [at] rdai.fr
Press
François Trédez
presse [at] rdai.fr
RDAI practices architecture, interior architecture and design.
Founded in 1972 by Rena Dumas, the award-winning practice is now led by Denis Montel and Julia Capp.
With nearly one hundred employees from 10 different nationalities, the agency — winner of the Equerre d'Argent, French best architecture prize in 2014 — is recognized worldwide. Experienced architects, interior architects, designers and technicians work together on around 70 international projects each year always responding to the specifics of places and cultures.
RDAI works on all scales, from entire buildings to interior environments and individual objects - with innovative support from technical experts, research and development, datamining and material specialists — treating a diverse selection of programmes including retail, hotel, residential, workplace, cultural, events and furniture design.
With its intuitive and conceptual approach, the objective of RDAI is to reach the very essence in every creation.
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Denis Montel
A graduate of the École d’Architecture Paris-La Défense, his first professional experiences were transdisciplinary. For ten years he collaborated with agencies specializing in architecture, interior architecture, landscape, scenography and strategic design. In 1999 he joined Rena Dumas, directing major projects for RDAI. In 2007 he co-founded RDAI-Architecture with Rena Dumas and Nicolas Karmochkine. After Rena’s disappearance in 2009 he became managing director and artistic director of the two agencies, RDAI and RDAI-Architecture. Denis has taught at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and various architecture schools, and regularly takes part in international conferences. |
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Julia Capp
Julia graduated from the University of Queensland, Brisbane with a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Design Studies and has an MBA from the Institut français de la mode, Paris. |
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Gérald Sellier
Architect DPLG, Chief Operations Officier
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Valérie Bacques
Administrative and Financial Director
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Dominique Hébrard
Interior architect, Associate artistic director
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Ségolène Casetta
Human Resources Director
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Mathieu Alfandary
马修.阿尔方达利
Interior Architect , RDAI Architecture Asia Director
室内设计师,RDAI建筑设计事务所亚洲区经理 |
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Filippo Canni
Architect, Project Director
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Marie-Eve Dubray
Interior architect, Project Director
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Florian Tenent
Interior architect, Project Director, Director of Research and Development
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Cécile Buhagiar
Interior architect, Project Director
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Sybil Debu
Architect, Project Director
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Nathalie Gonon
Interior architect, Project Director
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Guillaume Wendling
Architect HMONP, Project Director
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Romain Buyer
Technical department director
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Carole Petitjean
Director of materials library and design department
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“At the start of each project there is a story to be told, a dream to pursue, one full of sensitivity and poetry. The successful project is the one that maintains the purity of this original vision, answering the dream from which it was born. All our projects are marked by the concern with how humans will live and evolve in these spaces. They are characterized by this passion and this attention to detail. Architecture is an event in itself. Architecture is to be lived and inhabited. It is a generous act. I understood very early the responsibility, I would say the greatness of the profession of architecture, which can give happiness or overwhelm. When I speak of happiness, it is the happiness that generates energy. This is a very important element in the art of creating and building.” Rena Dumas - 2007
Rena Dumas embodied the values of her chosen profession. She discovered architecture as a teenager, when her brother was studying in Athens, and she decided to follow the same path, concentrating on interior architecture.
Rena graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art in Paris, before continuing her education in Greece and the United States. New horizons opened to her on meeting the architect André Wogenscky in 1968. She took over the management of Robert Anxionnat’s Paris practice, carrying out numerous projects, including the Time Life’s Paris offices and boardroom.
In 1972 she opened her own studio, Rena Dumas Architecture Intérieure. Among her first clients were the Marine Midland Bank and Urquijo Bank while the collaboration with Hermès, which continues today, began in 1976.
From 1983 until her death in 2009, Rena designed furniture and objects, exploring concepts of nomadism. Furniture that folded/unfolded enabled her to delve into the ideas behind structural articulations. With a vocabulary built on simplicity and the absence of embellishment, these pieces express the subtlety of touch.
1972
Establishment of Rena Dumas Architecture Intérieure by Rena Dumas
1976
Beginning of the collaboration with Hermès
2000
Move to new offices from 5 to 13 rue du Mail 75002 Paris
The change of premises allows the agency and all its departments to expand, including the material library
2001
Inauguration of the Maison Hermès Ginza in Tokyo with Renzo Piano Building Workshop
2006
Inauguration of the Maison Hermès Dosan Park in Seoul
2007
Establishment of RDAI-Architecture
Partners: Rena Dumas, Denis Montel and Nicolas Karmochkine
2009
Death of Rena Dumas
Denis Montel becomes Artistic Director of RDAI
2010
Inauguration of Hermès Rive Gauche in Paris
2014
Prix de l’Equerre d’argent
Cité des métiers Hermès — RDAI-Architecture, winner of the “Equerre d'argent” 2014
2015
Diversification of activities: hotels, condominiums in the USA, tower in Taipei, and more
2019
Winner of the National Pulse Memorial & Museum competition in Orlando with Coldefy
2022
RDAI celebrates its 50th anniversary!