Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano

The art of inserting a new building into an historic city block means engaging in an open, physical dialogue with the existing city buildings. Building onto a structure also presents an opportunity for a wideranging renovation project, a reclaiming of space.

The new headquarters of the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, by architects from Renzo Piano Building Workshop, is an unexpected presence, a curved volume glimpsed floating in the middle of a courtyard, anchored on just a few supports. It is complimented by a group of birch trees, a floral island set in the dense mineral context of the city.

Description of the project by Architects.

The Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé is an organisation dedicated to the preservation of Pathé’s heritage, and to the promotion of cinematography. Its new headquarters sits at the centre of a block in Paris’ XIII arrondissement, where a mid-19th century theatre - transformed into one of Paris’ first cinemas in the mid-1900s, radically transformed again in the 1960s - once stood.

The new building, which will be finished over the next few months, will house Pathé’s archives, exhibition spaces for temporary and permanent collections, a 70-seat screening room, and the Pathé Foundation’s offices.

The project called for the demolition of the two existing buildings to create an organic shaped ‘creature’ that better responds to the restrictions of the site. The idea was to respond to the functional and representative programme requested by the Fondation, while at the same time increasing the quality of the space surrounding the new building. The facade on the avenue des Gobelins has been restored and preserved, for its historic and artistic value. Decorated with sculptures by a young Auguste Rodin, it is not only a historical landmark, but also an iconic building for the Gobelins area.

A new transparent building just behind the street facade that looks a little like a greenhouse, is the public area of the Foundation. From this building visitors have a view through the transparent ground floor of the second building in the courtyard that houses the project’s main activities, to the garden beyond.

The peculiar design of this building is determined by the limits and requirements of the site. While keeping its distance from the surrounding buildings, the new building actually improves its neighbours’ access to daylight and air and by reducing the building’s footprint, the project creates space for a garden at the back of the site.

The upper part of the building is made of glass, providing natural light for the Foundation’s offices.

From the street the building is glimpsed through and over the restored façade - a discreet presence during the daytime, it will softly glow at night.

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Street vision. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

View from the existing building. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

The restored façade and the new headquarters. Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Inner vision. Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Envelope detail. Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

New headquartes and the old buildings. Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Construction process. Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Inside vision. Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Prototype of the façade. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photograph by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Site plan. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Elevation to Street. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Elevations. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Longitudinal Section. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Floor level plan -1. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Floor level plan +5. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Sketch. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Overview. Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano. Photography by Michel Denancé. Courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

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More information

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Architects

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Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

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Project team

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B. Plattner and T.Sahlmann (partner and associate in charge) with G.Bianchi (partner), A.Pachiaudi, S.Becchi, T.Kamp; S.Moreau, E.Ntourlias, O.Aubert, C.Colson, Y.Kyrkos (models).

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Collaborators

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VP Green (structure); Arnold Walz (model 3d); Sletec (cost consultant); Inex (MEP); Tribu (sustainability); Peutz (acoustics); Cosil (Light); Leo Berellini Architecte (interiors).

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Client

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Fondation Jérôme Seydoux - Pathé.

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Dates

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2006 - 2014.

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Venue / Location

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73 Av. des Gobelins, 75013 Paris, France.

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Photography

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Michel Denancé.

RENZO PIANO

Renzo Piano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937 to a family of builders. He graduated from Milan Polytechnic in 1964 and began to work with experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters. In 1971, he founded the Piano & Rogers studio and, together with Richard Rogers, won the competition for the Centre Pompidou in Paris. From the early 1970s to the 1990s, Piano collaborated with engineer Peter Rice, founding Atelier Piano & Rice in 1977. In 1981, he established the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, with offices today in Genoa, Paris and New York. Renzo Piano has been awarded the highest honors in architecture, including; the Pritzker Prize; RIBA Royal Gold Medal; Medaille d’Or, UIA; Erasmus Prize; and most recently, the Gold Medal of the AIA.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop. RPBW

The Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) was established in 1981 by Renzo Piano with offices in Genoa, Italy and Paris, France. The practice has since expanded and now also operates from New York.

RPBW is led by 10 partners, including founder and Pritzker Prize laureate, architect Renzo Piano.

The practice permanently employs about 130 architects together with a further 30 support staff including 3D visualization artists, model makers, archivers, administrative and secretarial staff.

Their staff has a wide experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams on building projects in France, Italy and abroad.

As architects, they are involved in the projects from start to finish. They usually provide full architectural design services and consultancy services during the construction phase. Their design skills extend beyond mere architectural services. Their work also includes interior design services, town planning and urban design services, landscape design services and exhibition design services.

RPBW has successfully undertaken and completed over 140 projects around the world.

Currently, among the main projects in progress are: the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles; the École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay; the Paddington Square in London and; the Toronto Courthouse.

Major projects already completed include: the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris; the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas; the Kanak Cultural Center in Nouméa, New Caledonia; the Kansaï International Airport Terminal Building in Osaka; the Beyeler Foundation Museum in Basel; the reconstruction of the Potsdamer Platz area in Berlin; the Rome Auditorium; the New York Times Building in New York; the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco; the Chicago Art Institute expansion in Chicago, Illinois; The Shard in London; Columbia University’s Manhattanville development project in New York City; the Harvard museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Intesa Sanpaolo office building in Turin, Italy; the Kimbell Art Museum expansion in Texas; the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Valletta City Gate in Malta; the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens; the Centro Botín in Santander; the New Paris Courthouse and others throughout the world.

Exhibitions of Renzo Piano and RPBW’s works have been held in many cities worldwide, including at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2018.

Published on: June 3, 2014

Cite: "Pathé Foundation at Paris, by Renzo Piano" METALOCUS. Accessed

<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/pathe-foundation-paris-renzo-piano> ISSN 1139-6415