- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Jared Chulski, Stéphane Chalmeau, FBAA
Text description provided by the architects. The transformation of the former offices of the Ministry of the Armed Forces into social housing, a childcare center, a gymnasium, and a garden, makes the îlot Saint-Germain a successful example of urban renovation. 254 new social housing units have been created at the heart of the 7th arrondissement of Paris and allowed the transformation of an office building into newly high-quality housing units, providing the inhabitants with outdoor spaces and balconies.
Everything began with the move of the offices of the Ministry of the Armed Forces from the îlot Saint-Germain which was composed of buildings from different periods, while two buildings remained in the hand of the Ministry. Therefore, one of the main challenges was to implement a balanced cohabitation between the new housing units (13 015 m²) spread into two buildings, and their environment.
One is an 18th-century Parisian building, giving onto the street (n° 10 and 100). The other is an office building, at the heart of the plot, built in 1960 (n° 200). The rehabilitation and transformation have been approached from two different directions, one technical and the other rational. The proposed housing is the result of research and experiences that seek to define what good housing must offer: brightness, flexibility, openness to its immediate environment, efficiency, flexibility and adaptability to contemporary ways of life. The historic character of buildings 10 and 100 offers many advantages. The decorative elements and the proportions of the interior volumes have been restored to improve the architectural quality of the apartments. Those considered to be of lesser quality (first floor, attic) are treated with particular care to enhance their comfort. With the creation of a concrete double-skin on the south and west facades of building 200, we provided the housings with exterior spaces and achieved to requalify the former office building into a housing block. All domestic activities are assumed: one can imagine this space as an extension to the garden, loggia, or terrace, representing the idea of the outdoor room.
The conservation of existing structures was the project’s high point. In buildings 10-100, the loadbearing stone masonry façades have been repaired and the wooden floors reinforced. The post-beam-concrete structure of Building 200 has been conserved and the joist-hollow block floors renovated. The existing stone envelope is an advantage, of its color, materiality, and durability. Depending on the level of damage, the stones and façades were cleaned, consolidated, or restored using plugs or replaced. While it might be worth discussing flexibility and systems, it would be worthwhile discussing an architecture able to serve through the years.
