Client: Secours Populaire Français

Program: Renovation and extension of an office building

Surface: 2 700 m2

Mission: Complete

Engineering: Bérim

Environment and sustainable development consultant: Stéphane Cochet

Circular economy consultant: R-USE

 

The project involves the major restructuring and extension of the Espace Solidarité of Secours Populaire Français, the historic headquarters located in the Marais district. The intervention aims to rehabilitate the existing structure while preserving its main structural elements, to open the facility to its surrounding neighborhood, and to respond to new needs for reception, training, and associative work.

 

The lower levels are entirely redesigned to enhance public accessibility: a large through-lobby and a cafeteria opening onto a terrace at ground level, as well as a flexible multipurpose space in the basement, broadly connected to a new natural-soil garden. This landscaped introduction marks a significant transformation of a site that was previously fully mineral.

 

On the upper floors, the rehabilitation allows for the creation of flexible, adaptable, and shared workspaces suited to contemporary uses by volunteers, permanent staff, and partner associations. A new extension at the rear of the plot replaces the former existing wooden structure and is articulated with the main building, while respecting party walls and neighboring views and daylight conditions.

 

The project asserts a sober, luminous, and coherent architectural expression, breaking with the previous condition while retaining significant heritage elements on the street-facing ground-floor façade. The use of bio-based materials, timber façades, and the emphasis placed on vegetation and natural light contribute to a warm and calming atmosphere.

 

Embedded in an ambitious environmental approach, the rehabilitation exceeds regulatory requirements: Passivhaus certification, the use of low-carbon construction systems—particularly timber structures (French hardwoods)—off-site prefabricated timber-frame façades, and an advanced strategy of reuse and circular economy. The project thus affirms a responsible, inclusive, and sustainable vision, consistent with the values upheld by Secours Populaire Français.