Jean-Pierre Pranlas-Descours is a French architect and urban planner associated with a minimalist aesthetic.[1] [2] [3]
Pranlas-Descours received his undergraduate education from the Ecole D’Architecture de Versailles and a Masters in Medieval History from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, expanding his exploration in the architectural complex societies of the Medieval cities in Italy. Immediately upon completion, he launched his firm, Pranlas-Descours Architect & Associates (1990 to present) and began teaching at the Ecole D’Architecture de Strasbourg, the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussée, the Ecole D’Architecture de Rennes, Paris-Tolbiac, École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-La Villette, and is presently, a full professor at the Ecole nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-Malaquais. His guest-lecturing has taken him to architectural schools in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, Germany, Singapore, Brazil, Peru as well as the United States: Cornell University, Columbia University, and Parson's School of Design. He was visiting professor at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture - City College - New-York.
In 1986, Pranlas-Descours received the Rome Prize in Architecture from L’Academie de France in Rome. To further his research, the following year he was honored with a residency at the academy's campus, Villa Medici. He was nominated for the Equerre d’Argent Architectural Prize of the AMC Review, 2000, 2003, 2006. In 2004, Pranlas-Descours’ project for the new center of Saint-Jacques-de-La-lande was shortlisted for the European Urban Prize. For his Bottière Chenaie Urban Design, Nantes, he was the recipient for the distinguished Robert Auzelle Prize. In 2012 Pranlas-Descours received the Honor Medaille from the French Academy of Architecture.In 2019 he received the S-Arch International prize and the D'A architectural Prize for the Chambre des Métiers project in Lille, project who was nominated to the Mies Van Der Hohe prize. In 2021 he received the Award Gold prize (Asia -Pacific) from the Holcim Foundation for the Yuzhong project in China. In 2022 he was nominated as a new member of the French Academy of Architecture.