Second Empire

The repurposing of a space in the historic center of Paris into two apartments gave architect  Vincent Parreira’s  office  an  opportunity  to  work  on  a  small  scale  in  an exceptional context.    Despite   determinist   formal   and   constructive   features,   this   remarkably   adaptable Haussmannian building has withstood repeated repurposing, though at the cost, it is true, of sometimes heavy interventions. The central framework of Haussmann’s Paris, the Opéra-Madeleine district has been transformed without changing its appearance: thus, number 17 Boulevard des Capucines is occupied with a vast progra... More

The Bouwerie Lane Theatre at 54 Bond Street is a mixed-use, cast iron building in the NoHo Historic District. This ornately detailed corner building designed in the French Second Empire style by Henry Engelbert and initially constructed between 1873 and 1874 as the Bond Street Savings Bank. It was then home to the German Exchange, loft and storage space, and the Bouwerie Lane Theatre before being converted into a high-end residential condominium with ground-floor commercial space in 2007. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Bouwerie Lane Theatre and individual landmark in 1967, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.Our project consisted of the exterior restoration of the cast-ir... More

Representative of the decorative art of the Second Empire, the Quai d'Orsay is best known for housing since the mid-nineteenth century , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having hosted many celebrities today is Octavio Amado who crowd the floor of the department to enlighten his creations. Following our collaboration with interior designer Cecilia Roudier , you can find our range FOLD , worked to measure, in the lobby of this prestigious Parisian haven. More

A national historic site, Montreal City Hall was one of the first monumental single-purpose city halls in Canada. Built between 1872 and 1878 after plans prepared by Hutchison & Perrault, the building was severely damaged by fire in 1922, leaving only its outer walls and destroying many of the city's historic records. Commissioned to oversee reconstruction, the architect Louis Parent designed an entirely new building with a self-supporting steel structure erected inside the shell of the ruins. Inspired by the city hall of the French city of Tours, Parent remodelled the mansard roof with a copper finish instead of the original slate tiles and completely restored the original limestone facades. With its dense and abundant use of ornamentation... More

For a Sustainable, Dense and Connected City Following the Climate Energy Plan of Paris aimed at reducing 75% of the greenhouse gas emissionswithin 2050, the « 2050 PARIS SMART CITY » project is a research and development work on theintegration of high-rise buildings with plus-energy (BEPOS) producing by solidarity all together energy for the surrounding areas. In order to fight against the urban heat-island phenomenon by increasing in the same time the density of the city in the long-term, this study presents 8 prototypes of mixed towers. These towers repatriate the nature in the heart of the city and integrate from their design the rules of bioclimatism and the renewable and recyclable energies in short loop through innovative systems.... More

Hotel Gault is the result of the conversion of a commercial building in Old Montreal into a thirty-room hotel. Uncluttered by ostentation, the hotel is defined by spaciousness, light and the balance between the architectural features. Elements of the original structures are brought to the fore: a vast open space on the ground floor, with cast-iron columns and huge windows. The new vocation is expressed within the Second Empire style building in a pure, contemporary language in which the raw materials (steel, concrete, stucco and wood) are balanced with the original elements. The thirty rooms reflect as many variations on the theme of accommodation. They are a sort of architectural laboratory in which individual occupants can modify their sp... More