Baths-Showers & Co
Emblematic by its red brick facade, the Parisian "Bains-Douches & Co" building, formerly housing showers, has become a living space combining work and living. The innovative project, which is part of an ecological approach, made it possible to preserve and renovate the brick building to provide workspaces, behind which a new program of shared accommodation has been built. This project is exemplary in many ways. New uses, heritage, timber construction, and aluminum joinery combine with sustainability on a complicated site. The story of a "virtuous" architectural adventure. Interview by Sophie Roulet
Innovation at the service of ecology
Indeed, the challenge of this project was to imagine an innovative program preserving the brick prow of the old baths-showers dating from the middle of the year 1930 while building behind a sustainable building.
The existing one has been rehabilitated into a co-working space with a surface area of 300 m for around twenty workstations, while stands at the back, the bioclimatic facade of a timber frame building housing a shared apartment. More than fifty rooms are divided into 17 apartments, behind a south-facing facade which will be vegetated.
Rehabilitation of the front of the old red brick building and construction of a new wooden structure at the back
Reynaers Aluminum has produced a curtain wall (CW 50) for coworking spaces and sliding doors for the bioclimatic facade of new housing
A stakeholder in this architectural adventure, Reynaers Aluminum has produced, on the one hand, a curtain wall (CW 50) for the rehabilitated workspaces and, on the other hand, the large sliding frames for the bioclimatic facade of new homes (CP 130). . This innovative achievement in the service of ecology is still "the largest wooden residential building in Paris today. At the time of the competition (1) in 2015, it was an adventure ... not to mention the constraints of a site in the heart of the capital, "says architect Albin Rousseau, in charge of this operation.
Bioclimatic facade
This bioclimatic project and its wooden structure halve the environmental impact, demonstrating that we can design and build differently. Albin Rousseau, co-founder of Red Architects explains: “to exploit the surrounding climatic conditions in a natural way, we have created a glazed facade in the south to capture maximum solar gain in winter. In summer, this bioclimatic facade, equipped with large Reynaers Aluminum sliding frames opening onto long balconies, will be protected by a green curtain that has just been planted to eventually climb along with the stakes on the 8 floors of the building. We did not choose wood joinery, but Reynaers Aluminum CP 130 aluminum profiles for their finesse, and the large opening dimensions at any height of 2.60 by 2 meters. The contrast between this aluminum joinery and the wooden structure is for us an important element of architectural design. We frame the views to the outside with dark joinery in light, white, and wood interiors. "
the CP 130 sliding gate between aesthetics and thermal performance
For Kevin Latreille, in charge of prescriptions at Reynaers Aluminum, “the interest of the CP 130 here combines the aesthetic and practical aspect of a sliding system with thermal performance, wind resistance and waterproofness similar to fixed parts or openings à la française. The thermal efficiency of this lift-and-slide is its strong point in terms of durability ".
Implementation The rigor of the wooden framework, all of the elements of which are prefabricated in the factory, allowed a perfect sequence with the installation of the windows to obtain very quick water out on site. architect-engineer Albin Rousseau. "The ease and speed of assembly of the exterior joinery is an advantage of a wooden structure" confirms Joël Saraiva, director of the Croixalmétal company, which ensured the installation with pre-frames and a wall installation by the outside. It also takes care of the special handling to mount the sliding frames weighing nearly 400 kilos upstairs on a very narrow site without the possibility of storage.
Curtain wall in straight cut
The CW 50 curtain wall on the north facade of the old building
Opening onto the garden separating the old building from the new, a curtain wall made from CW 50 profiles covers the north facade. Thermally efficient, this curtain wall demonstrates its adaptability in the context of a renovation to mark the cutout made in the existing building. A clean-cut claimed by the architects who kept the front part and demolished the rear part which housed the showers, thus freeing the necessary grip for the new construction.
Just like the large CP 130 sliding frames, the CW 50 curtain wall is fitted with high-performance glazing to meet the standards of RT 2012 in force, explains Joël Saraiva of the Croixalmétal company. Group CEO Erwan Croix-Marie, for his part, emphasizes the partnership with Reynaers Aluminum:
We have worked for more than twenty years with Reynaers Aluminium, which today provides 80% of our manufacturing in aluminum joinery with a sustainable vision.
The CP 130 sliding door between aesthetics and thermal performance
Indeed, Reynaers Aluminium officially guarantees to date a minimum rate of 46% recycled aluminum used in the manufacture of all of its profiles.
Before the end of 2020, the company will ensure the use of 32% "low carbon" primary aluminum in addition to our recycled aluminum.
specifies Antoine Aubert, sales manager at Reynaers, stressing "This action will have the effect of considerably reducing our carbon footprint, making our products more efficient in terms of ethics and sustainable development, but also to obtain the BREEAM and LEED labels to which many new constructions want to access. "
(1) "Reinventing Paris" competition conducted by the RED Architects agency and the client Axitis.
Used systems
- ConceptPatio 130
