New transparency with old concrete

Built in 1957 by the brothers Arsène-Henry Architects, “La Maison de la Batellerie” has voluntarily been treated in a spirit of counting and simplicity, creating aesthetic thanks to the beauty of the materials in their raw state, without moldings or false setting.

This work is part of a group of buildings that form an urban façade on the Seine. Its strategic location of between the Seine and the quay shows beautiful views, but various changes have removed this permeability. In 1970, for example, the ceiling of the Exchange Room was raised, creating an outer extension that appeared heavy and overbearing. Exterior stairways and a footbridge were also added, and the stilts were blocked in to create a road tunnel beneath the building.

View over the Seine.

The project returns to the original concept of Arsène Henry brothers to treat the building in a spirit of simplicity which finds the transparency. We propose a new alliance between heritage and modernity produced by the removal of all previous interventions, replaced by a new transparent skin to illuminate the landscape of the Seine as a "magic lantern.”

The old windows have been removed from the original building with its expansive rows of windows, and replaced with a new, more open, more celebratory elevation.
Bow windows have been added to the previously windowless north gable end, providing a direct and all the non-original walls have been knocked down, to reveal the original building and its stilts.
 

Voies navigables de France retrouve la Maison de la Batellerie

Since mid-January 2013, the renovated building has been home to the Bassin de la Seine Regional headquarters of France's navigation authority, Voies Navigables de France (VNF).

This old building was formerly used by sailors to set rights on the transport of freight through the Seine. VNF is pleased to return to the building after a few years of interruption, and continue the link with the history of river navigation, which constitutes the major part of your daily activity.

Treatment of concrete facades

Existing concrete facades showed no disorder important. Most of the intervention was to erase layers of paint accumulated over the years, then applying a water-repellent film which invisible allowed restoring the original appearance.

A variety of spaces

The ground floor lobby leads off to different spaces within the building: the reception area, utility areas (mail, bins, security monitoring room), the central stairway and the glass lift.

The functional organization proposes a new hall through the ground floor, the new hub of central interactions of this building, which provides access to a stair-lift to the six floors. The building also holds 300 m2 of office space, plus two meeting rooms in the former Exchange Room open onto the Seine through the creation of glass bay windows. These facilities operate independently from the other office floors (access hall, independent output).

Free from technical contingencies, the office floors are large areas of about 300 m2. Security and fire exits are relegated to each end.  Radiant-acoustic ceilings with hybrids solutions fit between the beams in the manner of carpet without interfering with subsequent divisions.