We were approached to carry out preliminary studies and programmation of works concerning this castle with a status of a historic monument loctaed in the Bordeaux region.
The magnificent ensemble of the Esquirol Hospital is located at the confluence of the Marne and the Seine.
Our brief is to propose a new set of functions for the “Renaissance d’un monument neoclassique exceptionnel”, carrying out feasibility and programming studies for the former Esquirol Hospital in Saint-Maurice. The main part of the program involves housing, which while respecting strict heritage codes will also meet stringent sustainability, energy and thermal conservation standards.
Built in the 19th century and composed of 18 cloisters, the hospital complex develops to either side of a central axis punctuated by a two-level courtyard and a church. A motorway now separates this monumental neoclassical complex from the river. Our project proposes to recreate the lost connection between this extensive site and the Marne River. To achieve this, a landscaped suspended park over the motorway will give access to a new river port and marina with a beach and swimming pools. Within the context of this new park, we propose to construct two new “tower blades” of mixed use and contemporary architectural expression.
The project is to create the «Saint-Colomban» church complex , consisting of a 570-seat church, a presbytery and a parish center. It is located in the heart of a new urban development project, the Pré de Claye, an extension of the town of Serris, one several semi-rural municipalities that make up the development consortium of Val d’Europe, not far from EuroDisney in the Seine-et-Marne.
For this complex serving Val d’Europe, our aim is to propose a building of simple dignity. A church made to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful, welcoming them into a broad community. We wanted the architecture to express both universal and specifically local architectural traditions. The nave is oriented East-West, the apse lit by the first ray of sunshine of the day, symbol of divine light illuminating human existence.
In line with local building traditions, the building materials are stone, brick, wood, plasterwork and roofs of natural slate. The wooden roof rafters of the church will be visible from the interior.
Our project “the Paris Village” for the new American Battle Monuments Commission Headquarters in Paris encompasses the client’s values: rigor, order, security, strength, pride and emotion in place and history”.
Our proposal expands all the emotions of time and sacrifice connected to this prestigious organization.
Our project for extending a multipurpose sports-events centre for youth included additional classrooms, an annex and reception facilities. These additions were integrated into two recently acquired 17th century buildings – a farm building and a Norman manor – as well as a concrete bunker from the 1950’s.
The Grand Hornu is a remarkable historic mining and industrial complex dating from the industrial revolution. Set up between 1810 and 1830 by Henri De Gorge, a captain of industry of French origin, it constitutes a truly urban-scale project, an example of functional town planning in Europe at the beginning of Industrial Revolution.
The Grand Hornu includes workshops, offices, housing for workers, etc. The vast workshops include arcades, pediments and windows in half-moons giving a sustained rhythm to the exteriors.
Today, the site houses the Museum of Contemporary Arts of the French Community in Belgium, offering restaurants, bookshop, shops, conference-rooms, among other services.
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Located on a remarkable site in the 16th arrondissement of Paris overlooking the Seine, the Palais d’Iéna was first designed and built by Auguste Perret in 1937. In 1960, Paul Vimond, one of Perret’s students, extended this building on Avenue du Président Wilson.
Mellett Architects won the competition launched by the International Chamber of Commerce to refurbish Paul Vimond’s section of the building. Our brief was to create a modern, multi-purpose office space for more than 200 people as the new headquarters of the ICC. We designed a distinctive space within the Palais d’Iéna complex, designed for a multinational team and a world-wide organization that receives delegations and visitors from around the world..
We restored the Hôtel de Breteuil, a listed building dating back to the end of the 19th century located on the Avenue Foch and which has housed the Embassy of Ireland in Paris since 1954. Our brief included the renovation of the exterior of the building — stone facades, roof, exterior woodwork, gate doors, and all the metal components including the cast iron garden fence on Avenue Foch, as well as the adjoining garden.
The focus of the interior renovation of the Embassy was to reinstate the splendor of the building using traditional techniques and the know-how of specialized craftsmen. We were responsible for the complete interior renovation, conformity with fire safety standards, and accessibility for disabled persons as well as a full review of the security systems, access control and anti-intrusion systems, preparation and monitoring of the renovation of the reception rooms, 17th century wooden panels, interior woodwork, parquet floors, stucco, painting and gilding, chandeliers, tapestries, curtains and furniture..
We won a public competition to construct the first phase of new educational facilities — a nursery school, day care facilities and a canteen — for the village of Flins-sur-Seine, 35 kilometres west of Paris.
This project comprises 1600 m² of nursery school and day-care center accommodation. It was designed in 2006 / 2008 and reached practical completion in December 2008.
The site was occupied by a series of open-air tennis courts and a small fire station. Its form was narrow and deep and accessible from both ends. It is situated within 500 meters of a very busy highway that connects Paris with Normandy.
We planned the main circulation connecting the two staircases away from the courtyard, running parallel to the “blank wall” that protects the school environment from the motorway noise.
The scale and height of the project was determined by the existing urban context in terms of the neighboring houses and the rural materials in what is essentially a farming community.
The restaurant can cater for up to 230 students. The nursery school comprises five classrooms and necessary ancillary functions, services etc. The day-care center is an autonomous service and is independently accessible. The courtyard houses various play structures and can be supervised from all points within the school, including the external balcony at first floor level. The external fire stairs that lead into the courtyard are hidden behind wooden planks of varying height which recall the wooden barn structures of the village.