area 103 | Paris

architect: Chartier-Corbasson

location: Paris

year: 2009

The project is located in the Marais district, and consists of the renovation of a building in rue Saint Antoine no. 76 and the adjacent lot in rue de Turenne no. 1. The residential building is located on the alignment of rue Saint Antoine, and was probably built in the 17th century. A shop operates on the ground floor. The lot at no. 76 is very narrow and calls for specific distribution solutions. On the side of rue de Turenne a very imposing load-bearing wall covers three quarters of the length of the lot, today forming the final part of the small block. The building material is full of traces from an old building which was demolished when the rue de Turenne was opened. The wall is characteristic of the building style of the surrounding urban tissue. The project represents an opportunity to modify the final part of the block. It will also make it possible to change the orientation of the building, from rue St. Antoine no. 76 to the rue de Turenne, and to reconstruct the facade of the load-bearing wall. The general volumes of the existing building has been maintained and renovated. A new volume has been added to the existing one on the different floors, thus increasing the floor area and making it possible to create more spacious dwellings. Also the orientation of the building has been modified; it originally faced the internal, narrow and dark courtyard, while the apartments now face rue de Turenne. The facade has to some extent been left in its original state, but openings have been created to provide as much view as possible. The facade of the aggregate will be covered to assure a certain homogeneity, and a part of the load-bearing wall and the new volumes will also feature a new facing. The general form is adapted, wherever possible, to the authorized profile. The new dwellings are simple apartments with 2 or 3 main rooms or one large room in the attic. All apartments may be adapted to disabled persons. Moreover, the open-air elevator which serves for vertical movements has made it possible to preserve the old courtyard. The entrances to the apartments face the stairwell; external circulation is limited, but protected from rain and offers a view of the city. Every apartment has a terrace or a continuous Parisian balcony, protected by the external grid, facing rue de Turenne. The external space represents a direct extension of the dwelling. The living rooms are spacious and communicate with all other rooms, limiting the presence of corridors to a minimum.

architects: Chartier-Corbasson architectes
façade: Robert Jan Van Santen
client: SIEMP
program: apartments, boutique, fishmonger’s
address: 74-76 rue Saint-Antoine
surface: 900 sqm
cost: 2 Million100 euro
firm: Fayolle
metal façade: Portal
date: March 2007- February 2009

Karine Chartier (1968) graduated at the School of Architecture Paris-La Villette in 1995 after a DEFA at the School of Architecture of Nantes. Thomas Corbasson (1968) graduated at the School of Architecture Paris La Villette in 1996 after a DEFA at the School of Architecture of Lille. Both have spent a year at the École Polytechnique in Barcelona (Erasmus 1993/94). They have a independent activity of architects since 1999. Projects 2002: Study for the proposed development of the RN2 in urban boulevard, Aulnay sous-Bois. Draft design for a permanent exhibition at the Palais de la Découverte (Paris). Conversion of a commercial housing, Paris. Realization of an exhibition for interactive model (General Council of Seine-Saint-Denis).