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Martin Francis has designed yachts since 1988 and is the creative design force behind
superyachts Senses, Enigma/Katana/Eco, and technical expert for Yacht A. In 2012,
he was selected to collaborate with Silver Arrows Marine to build a new yacht under
the creative direction of Mercedes-Benz Style.

Born and raised in the UK, he is a Furniture Design graduate of Central St. Martins
College of Art and Design in London.

Upon graduation, he worked with architect Lord Norman Foster for 20 years, after
which he founded RFR with Peter Rice. As an innovative construction and
engineering firm, RFR pioneered the use of glass walls in architecture, most notably
on Le Louvre's glass pyramids designed by I. M. Pei.

Martin Francis' first motor yacht commission was Eco, since renamed Katana and
Enigma, for Emilio Azcrraga in 1991. Her reputation for innovative design and speed
for her size was the springboard which launched subsequent motor yacht designs by
Francis Design Consulting.

His work spreads across a variety of creative disciplines and he continues his pursuits
in villa architecture, as well as his passion for photography and fine art outside of
naval architecture.
RFR Engineers
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RFR was founded in Paris in 1981 as Rice Francis Ritchie sarl, by Peter Rice
(structural engineer), Martin Francis (industrial and yacht designer) and Ian Ritchie
(architect). It has offices in Stuttgart, Germany; Shanghai, China; and Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates.The firm has distinguished itself over the intervening years on
many projects, executed in every part of the world. The wide range of skills possessed
by its staff, composed of engineers, architects and industrial designers, enable it to
operate in very diverse contexts, and to use the widest variety of materials.

"RFR" is a leading design engineering firm with its head office based in Paris and
specialises in the design of complex structures and sophisticated building envelopes
that reconcile engineering and architecture.RFR has been able to design structures of
high quality, intended for unique locations like the Muse du Louvre or the Louis
Vuitton store on the avenue des Champs Elyses in Paris, the Capitol in Washington,
the Irish Parliament building in Dublin, or the library of the Indian Parliament in New
Delhi.

Contents
1 Recognition
2 Publications
3 Lectures
4 Notable works
5 External links

6 Sources

Recognition
It has won many international laurels and awards including French/European steel
awards, RIBA Awards,INGENIEURBAUPREIS 2006 for the AWD stadium in
Hanover,Acadmie de l'Architecture Silver Medal for Research and Technique.

Publications
Le verre structurel, Peter Rice, Hugh Dutton, Editions du Moniteur, Paris, 1990
Exploring materials, the work of Peter Rice, RIBA Gallery, London1992
Peter Rice, An Engineer imagines, Artemis, London, 1994
L'art de l'ingnieur, B.Vaudeville, JF.Blassel, H.Bardsley, M.Kutterer, Petit journal
de l'exposition, 1997
L'art de l'ingnieur : constructeur, entrepreneur, inventeur, Antoine Picon, 1997

Lectures
Members of RFR regularly lecture internationally on glass structures and new
geometric applications, including the Pisa university, Technical University Vienna,
Austrian Academy of Sciences (AW), and Ecole Spciale d'Architecture, Paris,
France.

Notable works
Louvre Pyramid
Cit des Sciences, La Villette
Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Roissy) Airport Terminal 2F
Roissy Airport TGV Station
Avignon TGV Station
World Trade Center (Amsterdam)
Irish Parliament Building
Simone de Beauvoir Bridge [1]

External links
RFR [2]
Ian Ritchie Architects [3]
Peter Rice [4][5]

Sources
http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/1004/index.html
http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/RFR,_Paris,_France
http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Passerelle_Simone_de_Beauvoir

Categories:
Structural engineers

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This page was last modified on 2 February 2013 at 06:13.

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