Enhancing the value of a disparate building complex

The existing building at 1-1bis avenue de Villars was composed of two very different buildings :
- a private mansion built in 1867, transformed into an office building in 1937 ;
- two new industrial buildings built in the courtyard in the 1930s, then raised in 1951 due to the increased activity of the main tenant, the Laboratoires Robert et Carrière company.

This ensemble dating from the 1930s, independent of the hotel on the street, has lost its initial identity over time. Its obsolete technical condition, its configuration and its lack of frontage on the Avenue de Villars no longer allowed it to function independently.

For this restructuring project, CALQ therefore wished to create a functional and modern tertiary real estate complex, in an assertive dialogue between historical and contemporary buildings.

Integration into its urban environment and respect for heritage

The immediate surroundings of the building are located in a listed site including "the avenue de Breteuil, including the place Vauban and the place de Breteuil, the avenues de Ségur and Villars extended by the boulevard des Invalides". The silhouette of the mansion on the Avenue de Villars is part of the urban front of the avenue at the back of the Place Vauban. This building is an interesting testimony to the Haussmann era. A renovation of the mansion in a spirit of conservation of existing heritage elements was required : the facade, the passage coach, the lobby and the grand staircase. The volumes have been preserved, and the main access to the building is still through the porch and the vestibule leading to the grand interior staircase that leads to the offices on the floors.

Recomposition of a functional and contemporary ensemble

The 1930's building has been extensively redesigned.

Its volume was developed in continuity with the mansion from the ground floor and on all floors in order to create office spaces communicating with the mansion. Thus, at the back of the courtyard, a new core of vertical and horizontal circulation has made it possible to link the office floors on the street side and the courtyard side. The new duplex elevator shaft serves all levels of the new complex.

The interior courtyard is also recomposed by a work on the facade of this building. The non-load-bearing spandrels and the existing external frames have been removed to allow the extension of the floors. The redents have been removed. This intervention benefits the new office floors, thus improving natural light for the comfort of future users.

The layout of the office floors recomposed by level will offer an efficient and comfortable tertiary operation for users in compliance with the labor code. The isolated 4th floor of the 1930s building has been transformed into a mezzanine that opens onto the 3rd floor and an accessible, landscaped terrace. A green wall embellishes the interior courtyard, and the terraces and roofs are all planted.

The first basement has been converted into meeting rooms, bicycle storage and technical rooms.

CALQ has thus created a harmonious, qualitative and modern real estate complex in the heart of the 7th arrondissement.