Heritage
“ Restoring a building does not mean maintaining, repairing or remaking it, it means restoring it to a complete state that may never have existed at any given time, according to Viollet-Le-Duc. ”
“ Restoring a building does not mean maintaining, repairing or remaking it, it means restoring it to a complete state that may never have existed at any given time, according to Viollet-Le-Duc. ”
Viollet-le-Duc, an inspired vision of restoration
Viollet-le-Duc is famous for restoring the spire of Notre-Dame, which had been knocked down in 1792. In the course of this construction project, he reinvented the statues of the portals and the Kings’ Gallery, which had been decimated during the Revolution, because, in his words: “Restoring an edifice does not mean maintaining, repairing or remaking it, it means re-establishing it in a complete state that may never have existed at a given moment.” Bérénice Gaussuin, PhD in architecture, whose book Viollet-le-Duc : La forge d’une théorie de la restauration par la pratique (Viollet-le-Duc: Forging a theory of restoration through practice) has just been published (CNRS Éditions), takes a look at the approach of this extraordinary restorer.
At the initiative of the Comité Grande-Armée, PCA-STREAM delivers "Grande-Armée 2030", a strategic vision for reintegrating the Avenue de la Grande-Armée into the urban dynamic of Paris's historic thoroughfare and adapting it to the challenges of the 21st century city.
The restructuring of 175 Boulevard Haussmann is an opportunity to become involved in making Paris a resilient and innovative city, one that is capable of renewing and reinventing itself. PCA-STREAM brings together two separate buildings to create a coherent office complex geared toward the well-being of its users and collaborative work. An emblematic contemporary rooftop addition, characterized by its glass scales, acts as a practical and symbolical connector between the various buildings and architectural periods involved.
Located near the Saint-Lazare train station, these new-generation offices in a former military barracks combine the best of two architectural heritages. They offer a comfortable and prestigious workplace, turned towards nature and the well-being of its users, French law firm Gide-Loyrette-Nouel. The building's heritage is magnified and remodeled, enhancing its attractiveness and competitiveness, while helping to write a new page in the history of Paris's ever-changing urban fabric.
PCA-STREAM’s restructuring of 52 Champs-Élysées, the former Virgin Megastore, contributes to renewing the image and attractiveness of the Champs-Élysées. The imposing Streamline modern Art Deco building gains new coherence thanks to a magnification of its architectural style and a clarification of its program. It will host a Galeries Lafayette department store, high-end offices, and an exceptional garden restaurant overlooking Paris.
PCA-STREAM’s restructuring of 52 Champs-Élysées, the former Virgin Megastore, contributes to renewing the image and attractiveness of the Champs-Élysées. The imposing Streamline Modern Art Deco building gains new coherence thanks to a magnification of its architectural style and a clarification of its program. It will host a Galeries Lafayette department store, high-end offices, and an exceptional garden restaurant overlooking Paris.
In the heart of the revitalized Porte Maillot district, PCA-STREAM revisits the Parisian modernist heritage and extends the city-nature dialogue. The agency’s intervention respects and enhances the architectural qualities of the original structure. On the north side, the façade grid is reinterpreted in a contemporary style inspired by its original rigorous layout. Designed as a balcony overlooking the Bois de Boulogne, it highlights the exceptional linear nature of the building with unobstructed views of the greater Parisian panorama.The new headquarters of Murex, the world leader in software for the financial markets, was designed above all to maximize interaction and collective intelligence, an essential function of a head office that has been reinforced by the health crisis. Spaces are streamlined and legible, and fluid circulation is ensured by a core of elevators and Chambord staircases on the first day. Employees meet and exchange ideas in a place conducive to informal dialogue.
The former headquarters of the Telegraph, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, offered an exceptional building whose image had been gradually degraded by its successive occupants. PCA-STREAM revamped the site and reinvigorated this heritage property through the installation of new workspaces. An in situ artistic creation also reactivates its intimate links with the history of French telecommunications.
PCA-STREAM lends new impetus to a banking complex from the late nineteenth century, remarkable by its heritage value but closed on itself and poorly adapted to today’s modern requirements. Through a subdued intervention following a circular approach, the studio has augmented the building with new outdoor spaces, as well as programs and services that are largely porous to the vibrant city life within the district.
In the heart of Les Batignolles, PCA-STREAM is restructuring a former parking lot into a mixed-use complex of hotels, restaurants and offices. Based on the atypical and industrial dimension of the existing building, but also on the cultural and artisanal heritage of the neighborhood, the agency has chosen to infuse it with a spirit that emphasizes innovation and creativity. An emblematic central space physically and symbolically articulates the programs by offering cultural and event-based activities.
PCA-STREAM was the winner of the public competition run by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations for the transformation of the reception areas of its historical headquarters on Rue de Lille, with the aim of streamlining its operations and modernizing its image. This revamping has given PCA-STREAM the opportunity to experiment the full transformational potential of a historic building located right in the heart of Paris, combining concern for the heritage building and contemporary intervention.
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stream voices
Eager to share more generously the results of its collaborations and research, PCA-STREAM publishes STREAM VOICES, its online magazine!