Pierre-Richard
Villedrouin
Architect

works and Legba in his soul. A masterpiece he is rightly proud of is the entrance to his home: a "Legba-esque" gate. When asked about it, his reply is spot-on: "Do you know *calam decalam*? It’s male masturbation. My gate is a large horizontal member over which a piece of ironwork slides back and forth. It took time for Legba to accept it, and thus my gate was born." It took him six years of reflection to create this exceptional piece. "Here, we have the poetry of an esoteric dimension, whereas in other countries it’s all about the 'square-square' and the 'digital-digital,'" Pierre Richard explains.
 

Unconventional Architecture
Mexico—where Pierre Richard studied—was a major source of inspiration, shaping his identity. His professor, Félix Candela, was the first to influence him. A Spanish immigrant who had fled his country during the Franco dictatorship, Candela employed double-curved concrete structures, which offered greater strength than flat slabs—applying the principle of the egg and pressure. It was not about futurism, but rather an interpretation of nature, which he regarded as the ultimate teacher. Then there was Pier Luigi Nervi, the "tamer and charmer" of reinforced concrete. An Italian active in the 1920s, Nervi used ferrocement (reinforced concrete created by spraying onto a wire mesh); Pierre Richard adopted this material for his own structures. Prefabricated molds were used, eliminating the need for traditional formwork when constructing roofs. His inspiration came from a painting hanging on the wall of his home. For Pierre Richard, structures represent the nerves, tendons, and skeleton of architecture. His approach involves engaging directly with materials and getting to know them intimately. He builds with concrete rather than steel, as concrete is a fundamental resource in Haiti. He took his first steps in the field under the mentorship of his father, Emile Villedrouin, a civil engineer. "He was no ordinary man; he proved his worth. The Belvédère and the Casa Coupole building on Rue Vilatte speak for themselves," he acknowledges. Pierre Richard views his work as the product of the environments in which he operates and the materials available to him; in Mexico, he created "Mexican" architecture, while in the U.S., he produced "American" designs.
Where others merely work, Pierre Richard seems to be having fun.
One look at his architecture sparks immediate reactions: "How complex—it must cost a fortune." He explains: "Why? Because they aren't straight lines? Because they aren't right angles like everyone else does? So, if you don't do that, are you having fun? Well, yes—I am having fun, if that's the case."
A friend actually calls him Hugo. "I'm not a writer, but I think that, in a way, I'm a poet in what I do."