Each year, the Festival des Architectures Vives (FAV) invites visitors to embark on an immersive journey through Montpellier’s private mansions, true architectural gems of the city’s heritage. The 2026 edition, held from 9 to 14 June, featured 13 installations within these historic venues.

For this special anniversary edition, the festival invited several iconic teams from previous editions to take on a new role: that of mentors. This initiative embodied a symbolic transmission between generations, reflecting the confidence placed in emerging talents while reaffirming the collaborative spirit that has animated the festival since its inception.

The FAV continues to attract a growing audience every year. From 3,500 visitors in 2006, attendance surpassed 13,000 visitors for both the 2023 and 2024 editions. In 2025, the festival exceeded the milestone of 16,000 visitors for the first time.

The 2026 edition confirmed this remarkable momentum, welcoming nearly 18,000 visitors and setting a new attendance record, demonstrating the public’s ever-increasing interest in the festival.

2026 Edition: Transmission and Julien Tuffery, Patron of this Anniversary Edition

Over the past two years, the Festival des Architectures Vives has reflected on the role of patronage within its editions, with a clear intention to invite personalities from fields beyond architecture who nevertheless share common values of creativity, transmission, and local roots. This approach seeks to broaden perspectives on architecture by placing it in dialogue with other disciplines.

For the 2026 edition, dedicated to the theme of “Transmission”, the festival chose Julien Tuffery as its patron.

At the helm of the family workshop, Julien Tuffery represents the fourth generation of master tailors and garment makers. Together with his partner Myriam, he continues to develop the company by combining heritage and modernity through local production, responsible material sourcing, and innovation in both design and use.

Through his professional journey, Julien Tuffery embodies a contemporary and tangible expression of transmission. For him, transmission is not an abstract concept: it is experienced daily in the workshop, through dialogue between generations, and through the ability to preserve a craft while adapting it to contemporary challenges.

Transmission is not about preserving the past unchanged; it is about giving it a future.

By welcoming Julien Tuffery as patron, the FAV celebrated a vision of creativity deeply rooted in the long term—one that connects generations, values craftsmanship, and demonstrates that innovation can emerge from heritage.

The FAV Symposium: Architectures in the Making
For twenty years, the Festival des Architectures Vives has done more than showcase architecture: it has observed and supported its profound transformations. Having welcomed more than 730 architects since its creation, the FAV now stands as a unique observatory of emerging architectural practices.
Conceived as a three-part programme, the symposium explored new ways of designing, building, and transmitting knowledge through dialogue. The event took place over an afternoon at the DRAC Occitanie on Wednesday, 10 June, placing these discussions at the heart of a major institutional venue.

Teams and projects 

• 20th Anniversary Grand Prize
  LIMINALITY IN MOTION
  Yurika Takemura in collaboration with Yui Takeshima (Artist) and Haruna Kawamura (Performer)
  Nara, Japan
  Mentor: Tohru Horiguchi
  
  
• Public Prize
  PANACHE DE LUMIÈRE
  Ateliers A+: Valentin Bancarel, Marie Felipe, Eline Thibaut, Camille Le Joly, Bastien Lauras, Julie Guiraud
  Montpellier, France
  Mentors: Ateliers A+
  
  
• Jury’s Favourite Mention
  THE CONTINUUM AS A SPACE-TIME
  Charles-Antoine Lauzon and Marie-Laurence Durand
  Québec, Canada
  Mentors: Agence Spatiale
  
  
• Transmission Mention
  LE SENS DU DÉTAIL
  Guillaume Debeze and Amandine Courtaillac
  Montpellier, France
  Mentors: Élodie Nourrigat and Jacques Brion
  
  
• Environmental Mention
  SABLIER
  Collectif Nou(e)s: Maxime Neuville, Violette Soleilhac, Tanguy Guyot, Fabien Lamy
  Rodez, Paris, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon – France
  Mentors: Luc Léotoing (Luc Léotoing Paysage Urbanisme) & Chloé Mariey (GRAMA Architecture)
  
  
• 운지(雲紙): THE SUSPENDED CLOUD
  OFNN Group: Sanghoon Park and Sung-min Park
  Seoul, South Korea
  Mentors: Álvaro González Serrano & Jennyfher Alvarado Figueroa
  
  
• TELL ME A SECRET
  Coletivo624: Maria Filipe, Patrícia Varão Moreira, Miguel Van-Zeller, Beatriz Rosendo, Ruben Vasques, Raquel Stattmiller
  Portugal, Switzerland, Australia
  Mentor: Vicente Spinola
  
  
• UNE OMBRE BLEUE DEVIENT UNE RELIQUE 
  Collectif Natura Urbana: Emma Franco, Marta Portigliati, Lorenza Ferrari
  Genoa, Italy
  Mentor: Nicola Canessa
  
  
• TRANSPHERES
  Atelier Mousqueton: Valentine Geoffroy and Delphine Lecomte
  Bordeaux, France
  Mentors: Moonwalk Local
  
  
• VERTIGO
  Ateliers A+: Axelle Le Letty, Eva Richez, Ayyoub Mazouz, Jules Rousset, Hugo Corsig, Valentin Lagarde
  Montpellier, France
  Mentors: Ateliers A+
  
  
• LA LYRE ET LA COURONNE
  Estéban Le Magnen
  Paris, France
  Mentor: Régis Roudil
  
  
• MÂT-TIERS
  Calada Architectes (Zoé Dalloni, Élodie Artières) and Atelier Moschata (Raphaël Contesso)
  Nice, France
  Mentors: Ateliers O-S Architectes
  
  
• FAV POP-UP PAVILION: TÉISSER
  Laetitia Rejany and Iacha Perget
  Montpellier, France
  Mentors: Élodie Nourrigat and Jacques Brion

The FAV Pop-Up Pavilion at Hôtel Saint-Côme

Among the 13 installations, a pavilion located within the grounds of Hôtel Saint-Côme held a special place. Conceived as a space for gathering and celebration, it embodied the spirit of the festival: open, accessible, and welcoming.

The pavilion hosted a dedicated anniversary merchandise stand, offering visitors the opportunity to extend their FAV experience through a range of exclusive items. Serving as a true meeting point, this space encouraged visitors to engage with one another and immerse themselves in the festival’s atmosphere while celebrating two decades of creativity, sharing, and artistic innovation.

Although not designated as the official starting point of the festival route, the pavilion naturally invited visitors to begin their discovery of the FAV from this central location at 32 Grand-Rue Jean Moulin.

A Structured Environmental Commitment
The Festival des Architectures Vives reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability through the implementation of a rigorous environmental charter.

In partnership with Mas Réemploi, the festival continues to encourage the use of recycled materials and creative reuse in the design of installations. Each participating team receives support in reducing its carbon footprint, including access to Mas Réemploi’s online catalogue of reclaimed materials.

Following the festival, a collection and recovery operation was carried out for all 13 temporary installations. Through the reuse of installation materials, FAV 2026 enabled savings of nearly 12,275 kg CO₂-equivalent emissions, representing 3.7 tonnes of materials diverted into reuse channels.