135 Wagram | Paris, France | 2025

Category: Office Buildings
Architect: Charles Mannenc, France    
Architecture Office: Atelier Quinze Vingts
Lead Architect: Charles Mannenc, Hugo Alzingre and Mark Havasi 
Design Team: Assemblage Ingénierie (Structural Engineering)
General Contractor: BRMP
Client: LFPI REIM
Photographer: Yohann Fontaine      

The project examines the extensive restructuring of an office building on Avenue de Wagram, just a stone’s throw from Place du Brésil, completed by Atelier Quinze Vingts (Paris - 17th Arrondissement). Originally a late 19th-century timber-frame structure, later extended in the 1950s, the building has been transformed to address issues of thermal obsolescence and evolving needs, all while carefully integrating into the dense urban fabric of the 17th arrondissement.

The project subtly combines architectural heritage with innovation. On the street side, the historic stone facade is preserved and enhanced. A new Souppes limestone cladding, with its contrasting finishes—split and bush-hammered—reveals a work of discreet and elegant molding. The existing windows were replaced with slender frames, refining the facade's design. The entrance hall, once dark and opaque, now opens to the public space with wide, full-height glazed openings and a new steel grille, creating a welcome sense of transparency.

On the courtyard side, the vertical extension unfolds with great restraint. Designed in brick to blend discreetly with its environment, it features rounded corners and a simple, clean design that seems to gently place the new volume without altering the existing structure. This extension provides the new offices with flexible, light-filled spaces that extend outdoors onto terraces, offering a breath of fresh air and a connection to the city.

The logistics of managing the construction site in an occupied, dense urban area posed a major challenge, requiring meticulous coordination to minimize noise disruption and optimize material delivery.

The 135 Wagram project is a concrete response to the issue of office vacancy in Paris. Through an ambitious energy renovation, the building has regained its value and appeal, a process recognized by the BBC Effinergie Rénovation certification.