Echoes of the Past and Modern Innovation in a Paris Apartment Building

On the Rive Gauche in Paris’s 13th arrondissement, Graal has renovated a 1978 residential building, creating 49 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Located at the intersection of Rue du Chevaleret, Rue Cantagrel, and Rue des Grands Moulins, the project serves as an extension of the adjacent Cité du Refuge designed by Le Corbusier. The project preserves the historical identity of the site while marking a transition between two distinct construction eras. Defined by a soft palette of white and light blue, the exterior features a rhythmic fenestration pattern that responds to the scale and dynamism of the surrounding neighborhood.

These openings punctuate the facade to meet specific functional requirements, with dimensions varying from small apertures for kitchens to expansive glazing in the living areas.

The facade: Past and present

The restrained but elegant renovation of the facade began with an analysis of the existing conditions – an understated composition of recesses and projections produced by sliding windows, railings, and alternating sections of plaster and light-gray mosaic cladding. This aesthetic is typical of the 1970s.

Interventions were minimal to preserve the original structural logic while maximizing performance, specifically regarding thermal efficiency. This was achieved through the addition of a new building envelope that functions as a third layer.

Improving energy and thermal performance

Consisting of insulation panels clad in light-blue glazed tiles, the new layer references the local material palette where brick, stone, and glass block facades coexist. The vertical arrangement of the tiles echoes the ceramic cladding of the nearby Cité du Refuge, while the blue coordinates with the decorative brickwork of the adjoining building. Additional strategies were applied to the living room glazing to further optimize thermal and energy performance.

The openings appear framed, with the smaller windows shifted to the outer plane of the facade to effectively invert the former pattern of projections.

The result is a shimmering, refined envelope that changes with the shifting daylight, establishing a highly recognizable architectural identity for the building.

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