APA Transforms a Former Printshop in the Paris Suburbs Into a Hermès Leatherworking School
Photo © Benoît Teillet
Designed by Ludmila Pernot of Paris-based APA, the project is a reworking of an early- 20th-century printshop, which took the form of two timber-framed, top-lit sheds set side by side perpendicular to the street. Since three of its sides are party walls, the building has only one facade. Hermès initially envisaged making it a part of its adjacent showroom complex, a function that, since it involves welcoming clients and buyers, brings into play stricter fire-safety regulations. The challenge, therefore, was threefold: squeezing in extra square feet to house the dense program; producing a flexible design that could accommodate future changes in use; and, to avoid claustrophobia, preserving sightlines from the rear all the way to the front.
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The old printshop at the site (1) and the new leather school (2), directly adjacent to the Hermès showroom complex. Photos courtesy APA
Two major interventions augmented the building’s capacity: excavation of a basement containing storage, machinery, and meeting rooms; and the insertion of a mezzanine that accommodates different functions both on and below it. By hugging two sides of the building—the street facade and the longitudinal elevation next to the showroom complex—the mezzanine creates space for window-lit offices upstairs while still allowing perception of the building’s entire volume from below. To construct the mezzanine, Pernot specified a heavily reinforced, mushroom-type slab (rather than the less costly but more space-consuming solution of a concrete slab supported on beams), so that, if the building later becomes a showroom, extra smoke-extraction ducting can easily be inserted. Since much of the original structure was in poor condition, Pernot designed replacement timber columns with a double profile to make them appear slenderer.
The ground-floor includes roughly 70 workstations; several are enclosed and tucked beneath the mezzanine. Photos © Benoît Teillet
Around 70 apprentices occupy the ground-floor workstations, with beginners located at the front, by the street, and the more experienced at the rear. Loud or odorous activities, such as sanding or gluing, take place in closed workshops underneath the mezzanine. Since time-motion efficiency is paramount, automatic sliding glass doors facilitate access.
Upstairs, in addition to the directors’ offices, which are open, the mezzanine houses a classroom (also open), a cafeteria and lounge area, as well as bathrooms and lockers. Bespoke, built-in units dissimulate the latter from the cafeteria. Since leatherworking requires even, neutral light, the interior is painted white: in bright weather, abundant daylight enters through the facade and the skylights (blinds attenuate summer overheating), while suspended strip lights take over at night. To reduce visual commotion, ducting is as discreet as possible.
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The mezzanine-level includes an open lounge, cafeteria, and classroom spaces, which are seperated from offices, restrooms, and lockers by built-in units. Photos © Benoît Teillet
For security reasons, entry to the building is gained via the next-door showroom complex, with which the school shares elevators and to which it is connected on every floor. The street doors serve only for emergency egress and large-scale deliveries. Outside, a skin of golden bricks echoes nearby historic structures, with matching aluminum cladding on the wooden glazing frames. In this way, the facade signals both continuity and change: still a place of manufacture, the workshop expresses its rise in status.
