Rehabilitation of an office building

Freed from interpretative frameworks of conventional architecture, the building can emerge as a sculpture, with aspirations to become a new local landmark.

The project involves the total renovation of a standalone office building which forms part of a vast complex of facilities, residences and shops. This is a remarkable example of the signature podium-city planning of Claude Le Goas, urban planner in the town of Montreuil from 1958 to 1990. In formal terms, the offices occupy a singular location: as a cube structure perched on a crown of commercial premises, their volume dictates the particular topography of the site and, paradoxically, they assume a stronger and more remarkable presence than the surrounding residential towers. The offices are in-shot, all the time and from any point, even when the towers are lost from view. The offices thus constitute a symbol and benchmark for the district. Their refurbishment provides the opportunity to establish them as a landmark which symbolizes the renewal of the district.

Our approach has involved the identification of a language which will allow the shell structure to be treated as a whole, with no detailing of architectural elements. Parapets, frame structures, and even the distinction of storeys have been eliminated to create an abstract style. The embodiment of this abstraction involves the creation of a double skin which envelops the building. We have proposed a double metal skin of anodized aluminium, conceived and designed as a lacework structure for the management of solar inputs throughout the year, thereby optimizing the comfort of occupants.

The meshwork motif is designed to be viewed on two scales: in near vision and far vision. Perceived from afar as an evanescent gauze, detail emerges as the viewer approaches, with each element functioning as a pixel in an overall image.