Louis Pasteur Building Transformation into Autonomy Research Center / Atelier Téqui Architects

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Text description provided by the architects.Charles-Foix Hospital is located south of the town ofIvry-sur-Seine, within the former "hospice for the incurable" designed by Théodore Labrouste in 1873. Owner of the university hospital center, the Public Assistance of Paris Hospitals (AP-HP) has implemented to Sorbonne University the two upper levels of the Pasteur building, to install the Autonomy center there. This is the first research and experimentation center on the autonomy of people in a hospital environment, bringing together users, researchers and clinicians. Built in 1964, the Pasteur building is built on three levels, including a low, semi-buried garden level that houses the hospital pharmacy, a ground floor with main access to the street and a floor also accessible by two exterior staircases. The structure of the building consists of a post-beam frame with brick masonry infills. This constructive device allows flexible reconfiguration and ease of interior spaces and facades.The entire building was removed and cleaned, and all of the interior partitions were demolished. Only the posts and some load-bearing walls are preserved. Also, in order to improve the readability and comfort of spaces, the majority of openings are enlarged to guarantee a good level of light and unobstructed views. The partitions are completely reviewed in order to respond to the needs of the program, and the facades are insulated and cladding to improve the thermal comfort of the building. The facades are insulated from the outside with glass wool and then covered with false clerestory cladding in Douglas massive of French origin. This thick cladding ensures very good resistance over time and its treatment by gray impregnation offers lasting protection by autoclave, which allows you to get closer to the natural appearance obtained after several years of outdoor exposure.The use of wood indoors contributes to the creation of a warm and familiar environment, both for doctors and patients. The species used, sycamore and beech, stand out by their slightly pink and soft color, which accompanies users through the different spaces. On the ground floor, access is particularly highlighted with the design of a generous double-height hall, clad in wood and transparently visible from the upstairs circulation landing. A reception desk is integrated into the entrance to provide orientation to visitors in the different services, in addition to clear and readable signage. Upstairs, the layout is based on the creation of functional walls in wood, which structure and dress the interiors, conceal the technical organs and integrate cupboards and storage.The ground floor includes the reception areas, logistics support offices and experimentation rooms allowing people in loss to be put into a real situation autonomy, through walking tests and life actions daily on a real scale. Users, patients, doctors and researchers, are thus immersed in recreated living spaces such as the home, the bedroom hospital, the connected staircase, the movement analysis platform, or the doctor's office. The second level upstairs is dedicated to researchers and consists of a manufacturing workshop for prototypes (fablab), work and conference rooms, offices and a vast convivial space. Maximum flexibility is provided to search spaces with numerous open spaces, which allows you to consider different layouts and multiple uses.