What Raum does

Raum (legally Atelier Raum - architectes) is a French architecture firm founded in 2007 in Nantes by co-managing partners Julien Perraud, Benjamin Boré, and Thomas Durand. The firm provides architectural design services across a wide range of typologies — including cultural venues, educational facilities, sports infrastructure, healthcare centers, social and private housing, offices, and agricultural buildings — and works across scales from art installations and exhibitions to large public commissions. All three founders hold tenured teaching positions at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes, embedding the practice within the academic research community and informing a methodology that derives general architectural principles from the singularities of each site and program.

The firm's revenue model is professional-services-based: fees are negotiated per project, typically generated through winning competitive public tenders (maîtrise d'ouvrage publique) or via direct commissions from private developers and individuals. Its primary customer segment is the French public sector — municipalities, intercommunalities, government ministries, and public agencies — with a secondary segment of private developers and cultural/art institutions for residential, commercial, and scenography work. Distribution is sales-led and direct: projects are won through public competition (concours d'architecture) processes, supported by brand visibility through industry publications (AMC/Le Moniteur, d'A), major awards (two Prix de l'Équerre d'Argent, multiple EU Mies van der Rohe shortlistings), exhibitions (Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, Pavillon de l'Arsenal), and organic social channels (Instagram, Vimeo).

Geographically, the firm is headquartered in Nantes and operates primarily across France (Pays de la Loire, Bretagne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Île-de-France, Centre-Val de Loire), with international recognition rather than significant international revenue. The studio also functions as a creative hub hosting residencies, exhibitions, concerts, and collaborations with contemporary artists, operating as a research-and-experimentation workshop on contemporary forms of habitation. Raum is privately held with no disclosed external investors, no funding rounds, and no parent company, and has maintained independent ownership since founding.

Name

Raum

Legal name

Atelier Raum - architectes

Website

https://raum.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Atelier Raum is a Nantes-based French architecture firm founded in 2007 that designs cultural, educational, residential, sports, healthcare, and office buildings primarily for French public-sector clients, winning projects through competitive tenders and operating across scales from installations to large public commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Architectural Services (54131)

akta.pro primary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Public architecture
• Cultural facility design
• Residential architecture design
• Urban planning workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Architectural design commissions: Fee-based architectural services for public and private clients, generated through winning competitive tender competitions and direct commissions. Revenue is project-based, one-time per commission, with repeat clients and multiple project types across France.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Raum is an architecture studio founded in 2007 in Nantes, France, that delivers fee-based architectural design services across diverse typologies and scales, including art installations, exhibitions, individual houses, collective housing, workplaces, educational facilities, cultural venues, sports infrastructure, healthcare buildings, and agricultural buildings. Projects are won through competitive public tenders and direct private commissions, primarily across France. The studio also operates as a research and experimentation atelier producing prototypes, screenprints, residencies, exhibitions, and concerts.

Product overview

Raum is an architecture studio founded in 2007 in Nantes, France, that provides architectural design and project services across diverse scales and disciplines including art contemporary, individual and collective housing, workplaces (tertiary, equipment, agricultural), educational and cultural facilities. The studio also engages in experimental work including prototypes, screenprints, residencies, exhibitions, and concerts, positioning itself as a research and experimentation workshop focused on contemporary forms of habitation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public and Cultural Architecture Design Architectural design services for public buildings including cultural centers, schools, conservatories, sports facilities, and community spaces. Delivered to French municipalities, intercommunalities, and public agencies through competitive tenders.
• Residential Architecture Design Architectural design services for individual houses, collective housing developments, and social housing projects. Delivered to private developers, social housing operators (such as Immobilière 3F), and individual property owners.
• Commercial and Infrastructure Architecture Design Architectural design services for office buildings, mixed-use developments, healthcare facilities (maisons de santé), parking infrastructure, and agricultural buildings. Delivered to both public agencies and private developers.
• Scenography and Exhibition Design Design of scenographies, exhibition layouts, and temporary art installations for architecture museums, cultural institutions, and art organizations, including collaborations at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine.
• Research and Experimental Workshop An atelier-based experimental practice producing prototypes, screenprints, and hosting artist residencies, exhibitions, and concerts as part of the studio's research and experimentation on contemporary forms of habitation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Prix de l'Équerre d'Argent — France's most prestigious architecture award — won twice (2019 and 2022) for different projects in the 'Culture, Youth and Sport' category
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• L'EscautcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerL'Escaut (Brussels-based Belgian architecture firm) acted as associated architect and scenographer alongside RAUM as lead architect for the Conservatoire de Nantes & Pôle d'Enseignement Supérieur Spectacle Vivant project. This is a major co-development partnership on a flagship public building project.
• BASE (landscape architecture)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBASE (landscape architect) was the lead landscape firm for the Port-Haliguen new public space and capitainerie project in Quiberon, with RAUM as architect. Standard landscape-architecture collaboration.
• Stefan Shankland / Trans305minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAUM collaborated with artist Stefan Shankland and the Trans305 collective on art-architecture projects including 'Marbre d'ici' (winner of the Prix COAL 2011) and 'Pseudomonas Synringae' exhibited at the Domaine de Chamarande. These are creative/artistic co-productions bridging architecture and contemporary art.
• ArcatureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArcature (architecture firm) was associated with RAUM for the 102 social housing units project in La Rochelle. A project-level collaboration.
• Brut ArchitectureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrut Architecture was associated with RAUM for a 67-unit housing project in Rezé. A project-level collaboration.
• PO ArchitectesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPO Architectes collaborated with RAUM on a competition entry for 48 social housing units in Montoir de Bretagne.
• SOA (architecture firm)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRAUM was associated with SOA for a competition entry for 92 housing units and commercial spaces in Rennes, classified second.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mu Architecture: Montreal-based architecture firm with comparable boutique scale, public and cultural typologies, and an award-winning brand-led practice model.
• Atelier Fernandez & Serres: Bordeaux-based French architecture firm operating with similar scale and public-sector, award-recognized practice profile, often competing for the same French public commissions.
• LAN Architecture (Local Architecture Network): Paris-based French architecture practice with comparable public-sector portfolio, multiple Équerre d'Argent nominations, and a similar atelier-style collaborative model.
• AAVP Architecture: Paris-based French architecture firm with comparable focus on public-sector cultural and educational projects and Équerre d'Argent-level recognition.
• Dominique Coulon & Associés: French architecture firm of similar size based in Strasbourg, known for prize-winning public-sector cultural and educational buildings — directly comparable to RAUM in typology, client base, and award profile.

Broad incumbents

• MVRDV: Dutch architecture practice known for high-profile public and cultural architecture with strong international award recognition — useful benchmark for the trajectory of a culturally-led European practice.
• Snøhetta: Internationally recognized architecture practice blending cultural, public, and educational projects with strong academic ties — comparable to RAUM's academic-practice hybrid model.
• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): International architecture firm with comparable brand-led, award-winning approach to public and cultural projects; positions RAUM's international recognition trajectory.
• Lacaton & Vassal Architectes: Established French architecture firm known for award-winning public and social housing projects; a more senior practice that RAUM studies and emulates as a north-star for French public architecture.

Emerging players

• Encore Heureux: Paris-based architecture collective engaged in public, social, and scenographic work; comparable to RAUM in its blending of public architecture with exhibitions and cultural programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user3342721
• Instagraminstagram.com/atelier.raum
• Xx.com/atelierraum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Raum