"This restructuring project makes it possible to intensify a strong architectural gesture" - this briefly describes the basic idea of our Paris office for the renovation of the former modernistic Peugeot headquarters (Architects Sainsaulieu) near the Arc de Triomphe. The project offers the central Parisian urban space an exciting, 110-metre-long façade. The existing concrete structure forms the backdrop for an innovative window system. This system is as easy as it is intelligent: simple openings alternate with box-type windows that are set into the concrete structure at different depths. The elementary moments of the architecture are realised in this way: rhythm, plasticity and self-chosen order are found in a façade that gives the address and the "Grande Armée - l1ve" project a strong physiognomy.
The office building with its agora and a conference centre extends over two courtyards from Avenue de la Grande Armée to Rue Pergolèse with a perimeter block development that has been broken up with generous green areas. The existing primary structure was utilised, and the office space was designed to be use-neutral.
Recycling for the future: The building project showed the possibilities and problems of recycling and what can be learnt from it. 5,165 tonnes of demolished building fabric - 92 percent of the old materials - were recycled. 80 tons of the material was reused elsewhere in the building, e.g., for the flooring in the gallery. In the future, it will be important to avoid composite materials and to use simple materials that can be reused without a conversion process. Energy sources include geothermal wells, photovoltaic panels on the roof and local heating from the city of Paris, which obtains 50 per cent of its energy from local renewable sources.
However, the project with its 35,000 square metres of gross floor area achieves more: open office structures, the former showrooms on the ground floor and spacious open areas combine to create a living environment that is only partially dedicated to traditional desk work. Restructuring can therefore create a new place with a differentiated, attractive use that meets the requirements of today and tomorrow." The prerequisites for these interventions were laid out, and Baumschlager Eberle Architekten have developed them further.
In 2024 the project received the Austrian Green Planet Build Award of the Republik of Austria.
