Biography

Jérôme Picard is a French–Norwegian architect and urbanist based in Norway. He is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design at the University of Bergen (UiB) and co-founder and partner of LOCAL, an architecture and urbanism studio with offices in Bergen, Brussels, and Paris.

He holds an MA in Housing and Urbanism from the Architectural Association (AA) in London and an MA in Spatial Design from École Boulle in Paris. With over 19 years of international experience, including key roles at OMA in Rotterdam and Dominique Perrault Architecture in Paris, Jérôme moves fluidly between architecture and urbanism, working across scales from design to territory.

He leads Greymatter, a research initiative focused on aging and urban renewal, exploring how health and care can be integrated into everyday life to foster intergenerational and compassionate societies. His work in this field has received international recognition, including awards from Europan 15 and the Crossroads Prize at the Seoul Biennale. In 2025, he was awarded the Europe 40 Under 40® Award.

His research and practice are regularly presented at international conferences, biennales, and policy platforms, including the Oslo Architecture Triennale, Venice Biennale, Colloque de Cerisy, LINA, UHR, and leading Nordic urban development and placemaking forums. Through invited lectures and strategic contributions, he actively participates in shaping debates on care, demographic transition, and the societal role of architecture.

At UiB, Jérôme plays a strategic role across faculty, department, and research governance structures. He contributes to shaping research policy, academic development, and programme strategy, while leading a research group and advancing the New European Bauhaus initiative at KMD. Through this combined academic and institutional leadership, he positions design as a critical driver of long-term societal transformation within European research and policy frameworks.