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Saint Dennis, France

Social commitment instead of speculation
The history of this project began with a legendary photograph by the famous French photographer, Robert Doisneau, who in 1945 took a photo of the suburban café: a gaunt, isolated brick building forms the wedge-shaped end of a narrow, inhomogeneous block of buildings interspersed with industrial premises. This epitome of the suburbs occupies the centre of the picture; on the left is the Canal Saint Denis, on the right a street: wet cobblestones, foggy atmosphere, and the black silhouette of a man beside the café. Until a short time ago this godforsaken corner of a Parisian suburb looked exactly like in the photo, but the building had been bought by a real estate agent, a so called “marchand de sommeil”, which translates literally as “sleep merchant”. This term in used in France to describe dubious estate agents who accommodate large, generally black African, families in tiny dwelling units and demand horrifying prices per night and per head for degrading living conditions. Eventually, the hotel was offered for sale at a reasonable price and two young brothers bought it, supported by the city administration which is happy whenever an old “sleep merchant” is not simply succeeded by a new one. The new owners were even promised financial support with the renovation – provided that 50 % of the dwelling units were social housing apartments, that the construction work was carried out ecologically and the building properly insulated. The owners agreed to these conditions and invited three young architects to take part in a competition. Atelier Ramdam won because in addition to the planned renovation they proposed that a small new building should be erected on the three meters between the old building and the site boundary – which allowed the usable floor area to be doubled.

Integration project timber building
Then, finally, construction work could continue albeit with another – very time consuming – social project in the foreground. The architects decided to build the extension as a timber frame building and during their search for local firms came across a business that employed young people who were difficult to integrate into society and who, parallel to working, are also given training. Consequently, the timber building, unlike what was originally planned, was not prefabricated in the works but built on site, because that, it was said, would be both instructive and inspiring for the young people. The architects accepted the committed
educational goals of this argument and, with beatific patience, followed the firm along the path with many obstacles that led to erecting the building. That a few details differ from what we generally expect from a highly developed building culture is hardly surprising. Nevertheless, it is admirable that priorities different to those of the conventional building industry were set here. And ultimately, despite how simple the result may be, for this very reason it is also extremely strong.

Quality at a small scale
The two two-storey apartments in the extension, each of which is only 40 m2 in area, display great quality despite their extremely narrow and long floor plan (which was dictated by the width of the site): at the ends the living room has full height timber-framed windows and offers a generous view of the canal on the northwest side and of the brick building opposite on the southwest. A staircase leads from the living-dining-cooking area to an open gallery level with a desk, the bathroom is at the centre, the bedroom behind it is occupies a more intimate area. On the ground floor wooden shutters screen the apartment from the gazes of passers-by and protect against burglars. The materials are economical, where possible recycling was introduced, for instance the tiles from the old building were re-used in the entrance area: a very simple idea that enhances the residential quality. The old building, too, was given new qualities: once the architects had removed all the partition walls, they did not want to subdivide the space that had been newly created. In the corner, beside the entrance, a bathroom was made, the row of kitchen units forms part of the living space. This space is upgraded by new window openings so that it not only receives light from three sides but also has a view of the canal. In the lower, two-room apartment a staircase connects the ground floor with the bedroom on the upper floor, while the second floor “studio” is reached from the building’s main communal staircase.

History made legible
Externally the old building was adapted to suit modern conditions: the areas of the window openings in the former café facade that were walled-up are unashamedly displayed, the existing exposed brick facade was cleaned, and the joints repointed. The facade on the canal side, which used to have no windows, has acquired a dynamic, contemporary appearance through new openings developed from the layout of the interior (the previous lack of windows was due to the fact that the canal was once administered by the City of Paris and therefore the Parisian window tax applied here). The new building, which extends in height
to the ridge of the old building and therefore projects above its eaves line, is clearly distinguished from the old building not only by its volume but also by its horizontal timber facade. In terms of material, however, it offers a connection to its other neighbor, a wooden industrial shed which will certainly disappear one day. And so the building will become a new connecting element that will link the present with a still uncertain future. Here, too, the dynamic of history will not stand still.