Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau

REHABILITATION OLD DEPARTMENTAL ARCHIVES HOUSING

Patrick Schweitzer & Associés

CONSTRUCTION
SBE

CLIENT
Tal Développement

PHOTOGRAPHS
Pierre Pommereau

AREA
4800 m²

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Strasbourg, France

CATEGORY
Apartments

Text description provided by architect.

The building housing the archives of the département of Bas-Rhin is the only such building constructed by the German administration in the Reichsland of Alsace-Moselle, in the heart of the Neustadt of Strasbourg.

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau
Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau

This imposing, monumental building was an integral part of the architectural and urban planning scheme for the Neustadt, which includes the University and Saint - Maurice districts, and of the cultural and urban development strategy of the Second Reich, which included the construction of the National and University Library in 1890.

The style is eclectic: a mixture of Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Classical. The two original archive buildings, a conservation facility and an administrative building were constructed by the Wilhelm Jerschke firm following plans provided by the government architect Maximilian Metzenthin, assisted by Samuel Landshut and Paul Cavael, both of whom were tasked with supervising the work.

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau
Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau

The project was specially designed to house archive collections, which was unusual for the period.

This meant that it had to fulfill a range of conservation-related requirements. In 1929-1931, a second archive building was added to the north, designed by the architect of the département Paul Jablot, based on the initial German project, which planned three symmetrical buildings connected by galleries.

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau
Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau

Unlike the other two, this building is made of reinforced concrete, with metal floor structures and glass slabs.

In 1971, a new reinforced concrete archive building faced with artificial stone, designed by the architect Mario Cardosi, was built to the north.

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau
Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau

In 1971, the Archives Départementales held almost 20 linear kilometres of documents. By the mid-2000s this had risen to 30 kilometres and the building was full to capacity.

The decision was made to construct a new building that could house current and future archives in improved conditions, and that could cater to an increasingly diversified public.

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
© Pierre Pommereau
Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
Site plan

As the original building was now vacant, it was ripe for a restructuring and rehabilitation project that would nevertheless retain its historic authenticity. 

The original façades, window frames, and part of the metal structure have been restored. Behind them stands a building with curved outlines, large terraces, and living walls.

Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
Ground floor plan


Rehabilitation Old Departmental Archives Housing
Sections