Michel Mossessian

Michel Mossessian
Michel Mossessian in 2014
Born	(1959-11-11)11 November 1959 (age 60) Paris, Île-de-France, France
Nationality	French
Alma mater	École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (Paris-Belleville) Cooper Union School of Architecture Harvard Graduate School of Design
Occupation	Architect
Awards	MIPIM AR Future Projects Award Holcim Award

Practice	Mossessian Architecture
Buildings	King's Cross, London, UK Exchange House, London, UK 1 Fleet Place, London, UK Vila Olímpica, Barcelona, Spain Five Merchant Square, London, UK NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium ExxonMobil Technology Centre, Shanghai, China
Projects	Musheireb - Heart of Doha, Doha, Qatar (in progress) Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez, Morocco (December 2013)

Website	Official website

Michel Mossessian (born 11 November 1959) is a French architect of Armenian origin, based in London, UK.

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Education

Michel Mossessian gained his diploma in architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts UP N°8 (Paris Belleville), where he also engaged in philosophy under Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. He was a recipient of the Villa Medicis Hors les Murs fellowship and went on to the Cooper Union School of Architecture^[1] in New York, where he studied Advanced Design. He subsequently completed his master's degree in design studies at Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, MA, where he studied with Raphael Moneo and Bill Mitchell, along with studies at the MIT media Lab on artificial intelligence.^[2]

Early career

Mossessian worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) as Senior Designer^[3] in their Chicago office and as Design Director at the London offices. Along with Senior partner, Larry Oltmanns, they made a successful bid resulting in the design and completion in 2017 of the new NATO headquarters in Brussels.^[4]

Mossessian Architecture

In 2005, Mossessian established the architectural studio of Mossessian & Partners, where he serves as principal architect. His first building design in London was the Carmine Building, 5 Merchant Square, a 15-storey office building at Five Merchant Square. As part of the Paddington Basin Development, the building was topped off in 2009, by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.^[5]

In 2010, Mossessian & Partners completed three buildings: 5 Merchant Square (headquarters for Marks and Spencers) in Paddington, London;^[6] ExxonMobil Headquarters in Shanghai, China; and a private residence in Sorede, France.

In 2011, the company won an open international competition for an urban renewal project in the Medina of Fes, Morocco which is now on site.^[7]

In 2015 the practice was renamed Mossessian Architecture. Since that time Mossessian Architecture has designed 4 phases of a regeneration scheme in Doha (Msheireb),^[8] two buildings in Central London's King's Cross area,^[9] and won an international competition to design a museum of the Islamic Faith in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.^[10]

Outside of the practice, Mossessian lectures widely at schools of architecture and cultural institutions. Currently he is a visiting professor at Imperial College London where he lectures on how architecture affects well-being. He also personally organises events to promote innovation and development in the industry.

Design approach

Mossessian has a reputation for being at the helm of new approaches and technologies. Edwin Heathcote, Architecture Critic at the Financial Times, described Mossessian as follows: "Very few architects are able to blend the seductively reductive commercial architecture of Mid-Century Chicago with the lightness of touch and creative flair of contemporary European design — Mossessian is at the forefront of those few."^[11]

His original Black Box method has become a staple of every project the practice delivers and ensures a shared vision from the outset.

Mossessian is deeply interested in cultural localism and architecture that is concerned with far more than the buildings themselves. Propelled by his vision of creating culturally responsive architecture, he has sought out like-minded organisations, such as UNESCO and the MCC.

Significant projects

S1 building in King's Cross, London – under construction
S2 building in King's Cross, London^[12] - under construction
Place Lalla Yeddouna in Fes, Morocco^[13] - under construction
Msheireb development in Doha, Qatar^[14] – under construction
5 Merchant Square^[15] (Marks and Spencers Headquarters), London – completed 2010
ExxonMobil Building^[16] in Shanghai, China – completed 2010
Exchange House, London, UK
1 Fleet Place, London, UK - completed 1992
NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium^[17] – with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Villa Olympica Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain – with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Broadgate in London, UK – with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill