Townhouse Renovation in Paris
- Frank Kaltenbach
The Rue du Vertbois in the 3. Arrondissement used to be a typical Parisian side street. Today it belongs to the trendy Haut Marais district and its classy pâtisseries, expensive fashion boutiques, art galleries and posh restaurants. The building with the street address no. 5 is an interruption in the otherwise consistently historic street elevation. With its completely glazed facade, the structure interrupts the nostalgic ambience, resembling a shop window as tall as a townhouse. Behind the homogeneous, five storey street facade, Jacques Moussafir created a flexible spatial structure comprising four floors for commercial uses, an office level and above them, four residential floors. "The existing building by the architects Biro Fernier from the 1970s is a rare example of modern architecture in this district. Its robust reinforced concrete construction supported extensive remodelling. Since the building wasn't historically listed, we took the freedom to create generous spaces with transparent facades, very much in the spirit of the 70s." The new openness is impressively on display within the different functional areas and also characterises the circulation zones, which appear generous despite minimally available space. The commercial uses were originally limited to the ground floor and the first floor. Moussafir doubled the available area by functionally connecting two basement levels containing storage rooms to the ground floor through stairs, voids and a light ceiling. Early changes to the tenant structure demonstrate the flexibility of the building concept. Initial tenant spaces included a fashion boutique with a showroom. Passers-by were able to openly access it by crossing a bridge consisting of metal grating, guiding them from the street to the centre of the building. On its left hand side, a layer of metal mesh visually hints at the three-storey shaft of the car and freight elevator behind it. On the right hand side, an open staircase leads to a second entrance that accesses the commercial spaces. It is separated from the streetscape by a pane of glass and connected to a small recessed courtyard on the basement level. This is where the architect's office is located, as well as the entrance to an internationally renowned fashion label, strictly hidden from the public. In the meantime, it expanded into all commercial areas of the building and, additionally, the office spaces on the second floor. On all levels, spaces display a generous character, due to relocating and redesigning the central spiral staircase as a suspended steel structure next to the demising wall. This allowed creating two apartments on the second floor, one facing the street in the north, the other oriented towards the courtyard in the south. The three storey apartment on the levels above is occupied by the architect and his family.
