Logements YLC, Versailles, FR

How to convert 15,700m² of office buildings into housing?

Along the street, our C-shaped building displays a mirrored glass façade, fake columns, and decorative cornices, hiding an efficient concrete structure with precast slabs spanning from wall to wall.

The project takes advantage of this infrastructural capacity by preserving its physical integrity (spanning 12m with no columns nor plumbing networks). Lacking outdoor spaces such as balconies or loggias, our refurbishment focuses on the envelope : a new low carbon footprint layer - made of stone, wood, and wood fiber insulation - is added externally, simultaneously creating loggias, thermal insulation, kitchens, and bathrooms. Inspired both by the principle of the "bande active" by Yves Lion and François Leclercq, and the "Tour le Bois le Prêtre" by Lacaton & Vassal, this technical and habitable thickness concentrates most of the efforts of the project.

Inside, the concrete structure is left raw and freely adaptable by its occupants. Outside, the C-shape is cut in half : a "I" and a "L". The two buildings are distinguished by their morphology and materials: the Parisian limestone piers take up the load of wide bush-hammered concrete lintels and windows, thus offering a horizontal "L" facade. On the other hand, the structural principle of columns and short balconies in the small "I" building is enabled by the solidity of the more scarce hence sparingly used pink sandstone, recalling, in its hue, the brick of the industrial hall at the back of the site.

Architects : Jean-Christophe Quinton (industrial hall refurbishment), Guillaume Ramillien Architecture (construction of new houses), Nicolas Dorval-Bory Architectes (entrance building refurbishment)

Team NDBA : Hugo Taillardat and Stefania Iraci Sareri

Client : SOGELYM