Deskopolitan Renovation
Franklin Azzi
In the heart of the 11th district of Paris, the
islet located at 224-226 Boulevard Voltaire
is a forgotten site, almost kept secret. The
renovation and extension project proposed
by Franklin Azzi is part of a respectful
approach to built heritage, based on the
initial principles of the design of the building.
Saved for many years, this islet today is
under the impulse of DESKOPOLITAN
to become a unique place. Its singular
position at the heart of the island makes
it an unusual place where one of the first
urban issues was to open the site to the
district thanks to a rich program. In this way,
nearly 6,000 square meters of activities and
varied uses for innovation are gathered:
workspaces, a hotel, a restaurant, sports
studios and a crèche.
History and context. The 226 boulevard
Voltaire, located close to the village
Faidherbe formerly known for its
cabinetmaking workshops, the village Paul
Bert and its first-class shops, is one of
the emblematic places that bear witness
to the strong industrial past of the 11th
arrondissement of Paris.
20 - www.refurbandrestore.co.uk
Behind this address hid the house Cusenier,
founded in 1868 by Eugene Cusenier, known
for its liquors, absinthes and other spirits
today forgotten. In 1871, the Cusenier
factory set up at 226 boulevard Voltaire
to install its head office and its store of
sale. The year 1894 is marked by a change
of general direction which launches the
construction of the building that we know
today. It hosted in its basement a vault
room, guardian of the formulas of the brand.
Over the years, the former stronghold
Cusenier then became the headquarters of
Mutual B2V that will occupy the premises
until the early 2000s, before the RATP
acquired it to deploy a command center
of the metro. The project will finally be
abandoned in 2006. In 2015, Deskopolitan
buys the real estate complex from RATP and
launches the rehabilitation and extension
project for which the Franklin Azzi agency
was commissioned.
Preserve the soul of the site. Faced with
the architectural and patrimonial wealth
of this site, the project led by Franklin
Azzi is oriented towards the bias of a bold
and sensitive rehabilitation, anxious to
preserve the soul of the site while directing
it towards a contemporary architectural
response.Based on an in-depth analysis
of the morphology of the buildings and
their constructive principles, the aim of
the project was to make the existing fabric
compatible with contemporary uses. Thus,
the primary frameworks of the buildings
are preserved, as well as the existing
fills and openings in order to include this
rehabilitation in a respectful and sustainable
approach with a low environmental impact
(BREEAM certification “Very good”).
The tertiary character of the building is
maintained in order to preserve the ordered
layout of the post-beam structure as well
as the existing openings. On the facades,
we find the materials that make up the
structure: the exposed concrete and the
protective coating.
A contemporary writing dialoguating with
the existing. The contemporary extension,
creating two additional levels (6 Levels), is
an extension of the rigorous writing of the
original building. An over-densification of the
plot by the extension of the building did not
seem necessary, because it was essential
to let the inhabitants of the neighborhood
to reclaim the plot of a site almost forgotten.