Ministère de la Culture
Architect: SOLER et DROUOT ArchitectsCulture meets façade
In early 2005, the French Ministry of Cultural Affairs moved into its new head office at "Bons Enfants". The building in the Paris city centre blends perfectly with the surrounding historical structures and its extravagant aluminium mesh façade signals a contemporary outlook on cultural affairs. The daylight-flooded offices for 1,100 employees were fitted out with Bene's X9 programme.
The "Bons Enfants" building in Rue des Bons Enfants looks back on a long history: Built in 1920, it was renovated and expanded in 1960, to be revived last in 2004: SOLER et DROUOT Architects carefully reduced the building to its original size and wrapped it into an aluminium shell that has called a great deal of attention.
The casing reinforces the impressive volume of the building and outlines the transition from urban to office space. The generously glazed façade allows benefiting from daylight while it offers a great view at the same time. This transparency is sustained in the interior design as well: The architect duo went for transparent organisation of the space and light colours.
Clear form, fresh colours
The new head office unites the ministerial departments that had so far been scattered over a number of different locations, providing room for more than 1,100 employees on eight floors. These office floors, structured into "Combi" offices, are a continuation of the façade look on the inside: Bene's X9 desks in aluminium blend harmoniously with the well thought-out office space concept.
Central meeting rooms afford sufficient space for meetings and can be equipped with different configurations of mobile M_Coms at any given moment. Bene's AL_Group Management Programme for directors and management staff, with generous employment of aluminium for supporting structures, enhances the Ministry of Culture's contemporary claim.
A claim that is again met by the design of the inviting reception area, which leads right to the interior courtyard of the building. This courtyard was designed by landscape architect Michael Desvigne and botanist Patrick Blanc: It is an experimental micro-garden that makes reference to the building structure and serves as a place of retreat and a natural scenery at the same time.
