Le Pavillon: an sustainable and history-conscious transformation

By Redazione The Plan - 25 June 2021

Working collaboration with French practice ilimelgo, Benedetta Tagliabue and her studio, Miralles-Tagliabue EMBT, have transformed Le Palais des Fêtes into Le Pavillon.

The small existing building needed to be updated with new functions added. The Spanish practice won the competition with a project that involved restoring the existing structure and enhancing it with new architectural volumes to connect the complex with the city, a new garden, and the nearby forest.

Le Pavillon showcases the architectural skill of the Miralles-Tagliabue EMBT studio, who’ve created an organic cultural center that exemplifies the best in sustainability and ways to incorporate green spaces into cities, while also respecting the history of a site.

And it’s because of this special focus on history that the project both underscores and enhances the heritage value of the site, while strengthening the cultural life of the city of Romainville by creating a place for coexistence that’s open to the public as well as different artistic practices.

The building in question was the Polish pavilion at the 1937 Universal Exposition, which formed the antique Palais de Fêtes. This history is incorporated into the new development and given centerstage. The street façade was treated as the key element for creating complete openness to its urban setting. An interplay of opaque and transparent surfaces in the openings invites people to come inside. In terms of location, the project connects with the landscape of the city’s old quarries, between the suburbs and the center of Paris.

Le Pavillon is a highly sustainable project both in terms of its approach to carefully reworking existing heritage and for the way it has integrated itself into its setting by creating green spaces. The two new volumes have double-skin facades. Exposed concrete and a metal layer with green shadows recall the nearby forest. The interplay of colors of the façade merges with garden landscape while opening a dialogue with the existing structures.

The façade is the product of a sustainable approach based on the profile of Romainville itself as a place where industry has always played a fundamental historical and social role.

Location: Romainville, Paris, France
Dates: 2017–2019
Client: Romainville Town Hall
Architects: Benedetta Tagliabue, chief architect, Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, Elena Nedelcu, project director
Local architects: ilimelgo architectes, Valerian Amalric, Maxime Potiron
Bureau d’études TCE: EPDC
Structural Engineer: IETI
Economist consultant: MEBI
Acoustic consultant: AVLS
Scenography: Tourny
Landscape consultant: Land’Act
Photography: Duccio Malagamba, Marcela Grassi, Paul Lengereau
Collaborators EMBT: Ana Otelea, Marzia Faranda, Vincenzo Larocca, Alessia Apicella, Marilena Petropoulou, Gabriele Rotelli, Ana Dinca, Andrea Marchesin, Antonio Soreca, Cristina Ghigheanu, Damiano Rigoni, Diana Santana, Eliza Neagu, Iago Pérez Fernández, Manousos Kakouris, Marco Loretelli, Marco Molinari, Marion Delaporte, Máté Géhberger, Salvatore Sapienza, Sara Mucciola, Silvia Plesea, Valentina Frigeni, Verónica Donà, Yasmine Fahmy.
Collaborators ilimelgo: Félicie Botton, Paul Lengereau, Héloïse Debroissia, Morgane Hamel, Marine Amand
Area: 2.735 m²
Typology: Rehabilitation and extension
Scope: Complete
Program: Auditorium, show room, offices, foyer, artists dressing rooms, services

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Le Pavillon: an organic, sustainable, and history-conscious transformation

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT | ilimelgo