Since its founding in 1971, Paris-based SCAU Architecture (Search & Create Alternative Uses) has grown to be one of the premier architectural firms in the world, with landmark projects like the Stade de France, Paris; the Quai des Savoirs, Toulouse; and the Pierre Zobda-Quitman teaching hospital, Fort-de-France, Martinique. The firm is known for innovative design across a wide variety of buildings and structures, from museums and office complexes to hospitals, housing developments, stores, and universities. SCAU has also been at the forefront of developments in the fields of infrastructure and urban planning.

Creatures of the City provides a stunning look back over four decades of the prestigious firm’s vast portfolio of work. For the book, award-winning French photographer Cyrille Weiner has created a 224-page photo essay that focuses on fourteen of SCAU architecture’s key projects, showing them within the context of their surrounding urban setting and their reception by visitors, inhabitants, and passers-by. Together, the photographs form a striking testament to the firm’s diverse, interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes the riches of the places where it intervenes and eschews any preconceived notion about the outcome or overall image. Weiner’s extensive imagery is complemented by a text by French novelist Aurélien Bellanger.