11-21 rue d'Alsace, Paris : conversion of a Parisian building

The story of the rennaissance of a building nestling up against the Gare de l'Est which was to express the might of the newly established Eastern Railways Company. Over the years, this railway city has fallen into disrepair and has been cut off from its surrounding district, until two years after renovation work began, following the SNCF's sale of the building in June 2006 to the Commissioners of Works, Atemi, and ING Real Estate. Here the work carried the added demand of respecting the building's history which, located between the Gare de l'Est and Gare du Nord and spread over 25,000 square miles, symbolized the forward-looking aspirations of SNCF and French Railway. The architect, Anthony Béchu, was given the task of renovating the edifice without betraying its history, of giving new life to 11-21 rue d'Alsace in its original colors: the pale pink tones of the brickwork, the blue of the decoration punctuating its façade. The renovation also included the re-creation of a glass roof in its original location, a new pedestrian passage, a street between the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l'Est and the installation of the world's largest private hanging garden. A renaissance completed in autumn 2008.