What is the mission of the GRAND AIR agency?
GRAND AIR was born about ten years ago, and follows the impulse of ARCHIGROUP. This firm brings together architects and an entire engineering ecosystem: environmental engineers, fluid engineers, energy and economists. These actors work hand in hand on complex issues, such as re-architecture.
What does re-architecture mean?
It’s a term we coined. Previously, words like “rehab,” “renovation,” and “renovation” qualified work around existing buildings. In our opinion, this task is much more ambitious. From the beginning, the re-architecture implies the technical analysis of the building. Our role is to respect its foundations and its history, endowing it with the uses of today and tomorrow.
The architect uses creativity to invent a new image. Added to this is the pragmatism of the engineer and the economist, who must find intelligent solutions without destroying everything. Create value while respecting the existing building as much as possible: This is our challenge from the first pencil strokes.
In your opinion, why is the reuse of buildings growing rapidly?
France and Latin Europe have inherited an architectural heritage. Since the 1950s, an annoying habit has been installed in our territory: demolishing buildings to rebuild them. But today, resources are increasingly scarce..
Our sector has spent more than 30 years working to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Less often it is a question of embodied energy, the energy needed to build a building. However, it represents between 50 years and a century of use.. You have to extract materials, bring them to a site, deploy them… Every demolition is therefore a huge waste of resources.
From now on, many elected officials, environmentalists or not, reflecting on a possible re-architecture of a building before considering its demolition. This is what we stand for with GRAND AIR. In addition to being virtuous, reuse also creates less inconvenience for the surrounding population: less dust, fewer trucks, etc.
What criteria are used before redesigning a building?
We preserve the entire structure of the building, namely the infrastructure (basement) and the superstructure (all parts located above ground level). Of course, it must be in good condition. It is also necessary that the structure of the building (i.e. its shape) can be reused : ceiling heights, distances between posts… All these elements allow us to reimagine a new life for the building. There are many buildings that we can completely redesign!
It should be noted that the building structure accounts for one third of the carbon weight of a building.
Re-architecture: This is particularly virtuous for the carbon footprint of a real estate operation.
This market is growing very strongly. Businesses that own office buildings pride themselves on preserve its memory and strengthen its rootswhile benefiting the latest usage standards, the latest thermal standards and the latest material standards (bio-based, etc.).
Can you give us examples of re-architecture carried out by GRAND AIR?
GRAND AIR offers several types of reuse:
- An outdated office building from the 1980s was the headquarters of a French bank in the Lyon region. We have completely reinvented it in the space of three years. from the construction site. Employees will make their big comeback in three months, with, in particular, collective and collaborative surfaces adapted to new uses;
- Developers can buy outdated buildings. In this case, GRAND AIR can restructure them to allow them to put them back on the market, renting or reselling them at the best value;
- In Lyon, we are working on the transformation of a car garage from the 50s, which will become a large school distributed over 5 floors;
- In the Paris region, we were entrusted with an obsolete building in the 13th arrondissement. Its particularity: its testimony to the architecture of the 70s, with a look that is both baroque and psychedelic. We have renovated it while preserving its uniqueness.
We select materials with an almost negative carbon balance. GRAND AIR also minimizes air conditioning installations as much as possible, and On the contrary, it favors very efficient energies.. The construction sector has come a long way in terms of ecology, and re-architecture benefits from this progress.
What is the cost of a redesigned building compared to the price of a new one?
The re-architecture does not necessarily represent an economic saving. A building can be completely reinvented at the same price as a new building. The cost can sometimes be lower, but never more expensive.
Why did you open a new agency in Paris in 2022?
With 40 years of experience, we are one of the most important agencies in Rhône-Alpes. We can see that the potential market for tertiary re-architecture in the Paris region it is very important: old buildings attract large groups and investors. Therefore, we had to cover this area. So we partnered with an architect who has just worked in London for 20 years. Thus, we will be able to bring our ideas, our experiences and our pragmatism to the Parisian market.
This content was produced with SCRIBEO. The BFMBUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
