From the beginning of his educational path at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles in 1983, Jean-Philippe Mengeot simultaneously pursued his studies and professional practice. He designs furniture and carries out fittings for shops, luxury apartments and restaurants, very demanding fields in terms of mastery of details.
Graduated in 1988, at the same time as his freelance activity, he works on collective housing, medical social buildings, sports facilities, operational urban planning and hospitals. Following several associations, the Mengeot & Associate agency was created in 2007.
Mengeot & Associate has created a design method to develop a dialogue with the users and better integrate the qualities of use and operation; to develop a project respecting the program of the client, by integrating all the constraints whether they are regulatory, of use, of operation or of sustainable development, while taking into account the human and sensitive dimension. This is the approach made for each project at different scales: from urban planning to architecture, including interior design and furniture design. Strong of its experience, the agency designs all types of programs: public buildings (retirement homes, schools, gymnasiums, etc.), collective and individual housing, offices, technical equipment (energy recovery center, etc.) and manages all types of construction sites : new, rehabilitations, extensions or elevations. Mengeot & Associate can manage all phases of the project; from programming to client assistance, from business coordination to sustainable development.
Since 1990, Mengeot & Associates has been developing expertise in the medical-social field: Day Care Centers, Medical-care Homes, Specialized Reception Centers, Assisted Employment Establishments, Continuous Care And Rehabilitation Centers, Reception Centres for the Autonomy, Senior Nursing Homes…This great experience, combined with a good understanding of needs and uses, is put at the service of the well-being of the residents. It highlights the beneficial effects that architecture can produce on certain disabilities or pathologies. Mengeot & Associate seeks to develop a therapeutic architecture. The design of this type of establishment requires taking into account of various specificities induced by different types of handicap : different relationships to space, sounds, natural and artificial light, color, materials. These establishments must be reassuring for the resident without being oppressive – the well-being of the residents – the working comfort of the staff (optimization of functions).
Mengeot & Associate was called upon to design innovative techniques or equipment to meet the needs of these projects, in particular: – Reinforced ice foundation technique for the “Concordia” project, a French base located at the South Pole. A three-dimensional metal structure, sized according to the loads it has to receive, is heated. This state causes the melting of the ice and consequently the structure sinks to the desired level; the heating is then stopped and the ice is reformed by encompassing the structure – Stabilization of the buildings of the “Concordia” base: Three telescopic poles make it possible to keep the building in an horizontal position despite the movements of the ice (2km thick) on which it is implanted – First national creation of an elevator shaft entirely made of a wooden frame, designed in partnership with OTIS (FAM in Nonancourt) – First use of the “COFRADAL” product from Arcelomittal establishments: Prepainted steel trays incorporating thermal insulation (Medical care home in Nonancourt) – Creation of an automatic control unit (collaboration with Souchier Groom) allowing the use of natural smoke extraction devices for Freecooling (natural night cooling in summer) Programming integrating the temperature differences between the outside and the inside, the season, the possible overheating and the interface with the fire safety system – Study of a 100m high wooden structure in collaboration with the structure design firm Terrell (youth hostel in Barcelona) – Facades entirely made up of photovoltaic and thermal solar panels (youth hostel in Barcelona) – Building built in straw bale, thatched roof, central heating using the methanization of organic waste (Eco-district in Saint-Cyr du Ronceray)
For 26 years, Mengeot & Associate has been reflecting on the links between the rhythms of life and the spatial organization of space, at the level of the individual as well as at the level of the social group. For each project, the architect’s job is to understand the way in which the residents apprehend space, light, sounds, colors. A good knowledge of psychological and medical problems as well as a solid experience are essential to avoid any clumsy conception. This is why Mengeot & Associate remains attentive to residents, medical staff and families, even after years of operation. The relationships of trust that many operators and associations have granted it for so many years: Les Papillons Blancs (Evreux, Boulogne-Billancourt, Courcouronnes, Paris), IADES (Dourdan), municipalities, HLM offices, insurance groups (Malakoff-Médéric) attests to his skills.
Mengeot & Associate integrates sustainable development concerns into its projects. A bioclimatic architectural design is privileged, in particular by the search for good orientations to benefit from solar gains, by avoiding the implementation of expensive active material. The choice of local materials, or the alternative management of rainwater integrated into the landscaping, are some of the solutions offered by the agency.
While it is true that each project is unique, Mengeot & Associate systematically favors natural light, seen as an architectural element in its own, depending on the orientations, conditions the design of the facades. A source of comfort and hospitality, it is present in all spaces, including bathrooms and hallways. The living rooms benefit as often as possible from a double orientation. Natural, domesticated light becomes soft, a source of well-being, while avoiding glare and overheating. Low glass bands, high frames, skylights, recesses, skylights, sheds … all types of structures are used to work with natural light.
