The project is part of a general drive to improve the thermal envelopes of a city that is undergoing rapid transformation. Although this is essential if we are to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, it will also considerably transform the urban landscape, leading to the following concern: will we be living in a landscape of buildings wrapped entirely in polystyrene, with all the modelling, all the rough edges, all the rules of the art of yesteryear gone?

There will be a few exceptions, of course, for historic buildings and those protected by the Blondel law, but what will become of the modest, discreet qualities of this working-class architecture from the mid-20th century? Does a facelift necessarily mean an amnesiac pseudo-contemporary wrapping? In addition to achieving high energy standards, our renovation proposal is to build on the subtle qualities of the existing architecture, not to try to erase them, but on the contrary to reinforce them through appropriate implementation. The aim is therefore to strike a balance between appropriate thermal renovation and preserving the substance of the building.

The project proposes an architecture of nuanced extension. A new crown reinforces and completes the existing buildings, without obliterating these two major stages. Occasional balcony towers are proposed for reasons of use, sunlight, summer comfort, urban planning, architecture and economics.