Training for state architects and planners

The Corps des Architectes et Urbanistes de l'État was created in 1993 from the merger of the Corps des Architectes des Bâtiments de France (created in 1946) and the Corps des Urbanistes de l'État (created in 1962).

State architects and urban planners

State architects and urban planners are a technical bodies of senior civil servants. They contribute to the design and implementation of public policies relating to urban planning, construction, architecture and heritage, housing, regional planning and the environment. They contribute to the development of architectural, urban and environmental quality. They may be called upon to perform managerial, supervisory, advisory, coordinating, supervisory and expert duties in government departments and public establishments. They may also be entrusted with teaching, research and project management assignments.

To carry out their duties in the regional departments of the Ministry of Culture, state architects and urban planners must hold a diploma, title or certificate that gives access to the title of architect in France. They then bear the title of architecte des Bâtiments de France, conferred by a decision of the Minister of Culture.

Student architects and urban planners are recruited :

• By means of an external competition with options (option “Patrimoine architectural, urbain et paysager”, option “Urbanisme, aménagement”) from among candidates aged no more than forty on January 1 of the year of the competition, who hold a diploma, title, certificate or qualification that gives access to the title of architect in France;
• By means of an internal competition with options (option “Patrimoine architectural, urbain et paysager”, option “Urbanisme, aménagement”), from among civil servants and public employees of the State and local authorities with at least five years' public service on January 1 of the year of the competition.

A key player in territorial policy

State architects and urban planners, working for the Ministry in charge of Sustainable Development or the Ministry of Culture (at central, regional or departmental level, or within public establishments under their supervision), are key players in the development of territorial policies. They support the State's policies and contributes its expertise to projects of general interest, with a wide range of issues at stake (technical, socio-economic, cultural, etc.), from the preservation of historic monuments to the development of eco-neighborhoods.

Training for state architects and urban planners

The one-year post-competition training program for state architects and urban planners is as follows:

• A cycle of theoretical and practical courses, divided into:
  • a common core for all students,
  • specific in-depth courses for each of the two options: urban planning and development on the one hand, and architectural, urban and landscape heritage on the other.
• One or more practical internships in public services;
• Preparation and presentation of a final project to a jury.

École nationale des ponts et chaussées and the École de Chaillot jointly design and organize the core curriculum, and monitor the entire course. They also play a specific role in the design of courses for advanced studies.