Founded by two enthusiasts, Yaëlle Devaux-Baruh and David Bitton, YDB architectes is a new office that takes architecture to a new level. Here, we like to shake up codes, proposing functional and aesthetic architecture where spaces blur the boundaries between inside and outside, and where nature becomes a source of inspiration. Rehabilitation, renovation, creation, interior architecture, design - these two experts have pooled their skills and experience to offer their customers ambitious, made-to-measure solutions. Portrait of a studio that stands out for its atypical vision and career path.

A STORY THAT HAS ENDURED OVER 20 YEARS...

Sometimes an encounter changes a life... Yaëlle Devaux-Baruh and David Bitton met on the benches of the Paris Val-de-Seine architecture school. This meeting was to be the starting point of a story that has lasted for over 20 years between these two enthusiasts. It continued in 1999, when they entered California Polytechnic State University, where they obtained their degrees in Architecture, launched their respective careers in Californian agencies and took part in numerous large-scale projects. In 2002, Yaëlle returned to France and joined the Institut d'Urbanisme de Paris, where she studied for a DEA in urban planning in parallel with her DPLG diploma in architecture. She soon joined some of Paris's leading urban planning and architecture firms, before moving to Switzerland in 2008 to join a team of major offices, where she worked on such Jean Novel projects as the Qatar National Museum in Doha for 2.5 years, and the CEVA project in Geneva. Ten years later, she registered as an independent architect with the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel. As for David Bitton, he pursued his career with a number of collaborations in the United States, before returning to Paris to obtain his diploma as a D.P.L.G. architect. In 2004, he founded his own agency, DB Design, with a vision that reflects his own personality, and within which he carries out numerous architectural, renovation and landscaping projects. More recently, he created David Bitton design, which offers exclusively limited-edition design objects of his own creation or in partnership with artists. Drawing on their diverse experience and collaboration on numerous projects, in 2020 they decided to combine their skills to create YDB Architectes, based in both Geneva and Paris. More than a shared background, it's a real passion and the same philosophy that drives these two experts!

A DIFFERENT VISION OF ARCHITECTURE

The philosophy of this office: Offer living architecture at the service of the customer! YDB Architectes is two complementary personalities who share the same vision. Elegance, simplicity and functionality are essential concepts for these two architects, who integrate them into each of their projects. They play with the use of light, which is of paramount importance to them and makes each project unique, and draw their inspiration in particular from Californian architecture, which is intended to be new and daring. The agency places great importance on nature. A true source of inspiration, they integrate vegetation into the everyday world, creating harmonious, relaxing living spaces imbued with peace and serenity. David Bitton is a committed member of the jury of the Fondation France Bois et Forêt pour le patrimoine français, which is working on the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. They also worked on the Eden project for the 2019 edition of the Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival. They like to shake up codes, propose something new and unprecedented, and don't hesitate to blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors to create great spaces.