Architecture as the Art of Anchoring: Where Geography Meets Geometry in Contemporary Practice
“AI helps to make quick choices, but it does not replace intuition.”
In a context where artificial intelligence, social media, and the speed of visual content are strongly influencing the creative industries, architect Olivier Souquet believes that 2026 is not a time for a “new style,” but rather a period of redefining the core values of design thinking. As images become increasingly accessible, what ultimately distinguishes a truly valuable project is the coherence of its thinking, its ability to adapt, and the way a building is anchored to its place.
Artificial Intelligence and the Return to Coherent Thinking
According to Olivier Souquet, 2026 will witness an important shift in the public’s perception of creativity. As artificial intelligence can generate countless images within seconds, the boundary between imitation and genuine creativity will become increasingly clear. AI has made visual content more widespread and accessible than ever, but this very accessibility forces the design industry to return to a fundamental question: what creates real value?
He believes that coherence in thinking - the ability to synthesize, organize, and connect different elements into a system - is the true foundation of creativity. When images can be generated instantly, copying or assembling ideas becomes meaningless without a strong enough conceptual structure to create consistency.
AI can help make quick choices, but it cannot replace intuition. Intuition is the result of experience, observation, spatial memory, and personal perception. It is what allows architecture to move beyond simply “meeting requirements” and become a project with genuine depth.
Clients in the Age of Images: Faster, but Also More Easily Influenced
One of the most significant changes over the past 3–5 years lies in how clients approach aesthetics and value. Instagram, Pinterest, and AI tools have made it easier for them to visualize what they want. They come to architects with an enormous library of references and expect their own projects to develop at a similar speed.
At the early stages, this makes clients less dependent on the architect’s creative direction. However, at later stages, they increasingly need professional validation and systematization to determine whether those choices are genuinely appropriate.
The challenge lies in how quickly expectations can change. As images are consumed at the pace of scrolling through a smartphone screen, preferences can shift just as rapidly. This creates the risk of constant revisions, disrupting the design process and making projects less stable.
In this context, economic considerations remain decisive. In Vietnam, sustainability and ecological concerns, in his view, are still not among the highest priorities. The overall visual image is sometimes valued more highly than the actual construction logic of a building. This raises the question of how to rebalance form and structure, between a “visual collage” and the true value of construction.
Adaptability, Landscape, and Local Identity
A project that merely “meets requirements” is one that complies with a set of predefined parameters. But a project that truly creates value is one that can adapt over time. An adaptive city is a sustainable city.
According to Olivier Souquet, one important yet still underestimated opportunity in Vietnam lies in landscape and landscape identity. How can topography, history, and cultural memory influence the way spaces around a building are organized? How can landscape “anchor” a house to its site?
He emphasizes that this is not simply a matter of feng shui, but rather a subtle art of “geography” - where architecture must respond to topography, wind direction, natural light, vegetation, and layers of historical memory. Architecture cannot be separated from its context. It must merge geography with geometry, place with structure.
According to him, the sustainability trend over the next 5–10 years will not be a formalistic movement, but rather a reaffirmation of architecture’s role as a major art form. Architecture records history and crystallizes the present. It is an “art of assemblage” - where different elements are brought together to reveal the “genius of place.”
Featured Projects by:
Olivier Souquet + DE-SO Asia
From Buildings to Memory
Looking back on his career, Olivier Souquet believes that the greatest change has not been in technology, but in the way he approaches projects. At the age of 24, he once spent an entire day at Villa Gilardi by Luis Barragán. The experience left an indelible impression on him.
From that moment, he understood that architecture is not merely about buildings, but about memory. A space can create a boundary between “before” and “after” in a person’s perception. It can change the way we see the world.
For this reason, his advice to the younger generation is not centered on qualifications or personal style, but on observation and experience. Travel widely, draw by hand, and experience light and materials directly rather than relying entirely on digital tools. Intuition and real-world experience are the foundations of a sustainable practice.
Ultimately, architecture is not simply about constructing a form, but about opening up new perspectives on landscape, time, and the relationship between people and place.
Olivier Souquet has more than 30 years of experience in architecture and currently serves as President of DE-SO Asia and Co-founder of DE-SO in Paris. He became a member of the Académie d’Architecture in Paris in 2025. DE-SO Studio was founded in France in 2005, while DE-SO Asia was established in Vietnam in 2016. DE-SO Asia currently develops architecture and landscape planning projects across Southeast Asia and received the Grand Prize for Urban Planning in Vietnam in 2021, alongside numerous other architectural awards. Since 2019, DE-SO has been responsible for Louis Vuitton’s leather goods workshops in France. His practice consistently emphasizes anchoring buildings to their sites, creating a subtle combination of geography and geometry to reveal the “genius of place” within each project.
Company:
DE-SO Asia
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Explore More Featured Projects by:
Olivier Souquet + DE-SO Asia
Renovation of Diên Hồng Flower Garden
Mekong Delta Agricultural Garden Museum
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