Paris. Supervised by the Théâtre de la Ville and the Théâtre du Châtelet, hidden behind the Fontaine du Palmier, which has already noticed the Chamber of Notaries of Paris (see illustration)? “Our profession is like our building, so central that we no longer see it”noted Pierre Tarrade, president of the room, on the eve of the reopening of this historic seat. The restoration-renovation, carried out jointly by the Senzu workshop and the heritage architect Xavier Lagneau, accompanies the transformation of a profession which is due to its confidentiality, but wants to be a little more open to society.
Notaries have experienced a “ regulatory and demographic upheaval ”with a significant renewal and rejuvenation of the profession: “We need a common house”explains Pierre Tarrade. The 19th century building, which has all the architecture codes of its time, but was also congested by the successive 20th century arrangements, must find transparency and readability.
Thus, the alleges which separated the bays from the ground floor, added in the 1960s when shops settled at this level, were removed, to make the entrance to the building a space open to the public. The object of a neighborhood heritage controversy, the withdrawal of these alleges is in fact part of the overall spirit of the restoration, which consists in finding the volumes and arrangements of origin. This heritage approach (carried out on a building that does not benefit – surprisingly – no regulatory protection) is also read in the upper floors, with the valuation of the painted decorations of the large meeting room of notaries: the attention paid to the wall paintings of the 19th century, which is gradually imposed in restorations of religious buildings, earns a fine example of restoration in civil architecture.
Respect for heritage is combined with an architectural creation approach brought by the Senzu workshop: “ We carry this creative attitude in a more constrained context, focusing on the readability between the public and private parts of the Chamber. We wanted to stage confidentiality, which is at the heart of the work of notaries ”, explains Wandrille Marchais, co -founder of the Senzu workshop.
At the back of the building, the private work spaces were thus fitted out behind a small central coverage, hidden behind a large curved glass curtain wall: an aesthetic solution which allows you to take a look at the spaces inaccessible to the public, but also structural, since the curved glazing are self -supporting and waterproof. For collaborators in the Chamber of Notaries, this new facade on the courtyard creates spacious workspaces bathed in light. “” While preserving heritage, it was a question of making these offices efficient and adapted to today’s requirements ”, Specifies David Dottelonde from the Senzu workshop.
On the ground floor, the architect’s duo has implemented an experience on the re-use of site waste, by reusing the removed alleges and the pozzolan excavated under the slabs. Cut into a stone “carpaccio”, the alleges now form the elegant frame of the paving of the entrance hall. There too, the creative approach is part of a heritage spirit, where nothing is lost and everything can be transformed.
