The conversion of the former French military hospital IGESA exposed the raw structures, making the history tangible. In doing so, Boman Architectes realized their ambition to connect the past with the future.

The conversion of the former French military hospital IGESA exposed the raw structures, making the history tangible. In doing so, Boman Architectes realized their ambition to connect the past with the future.

Boman Architectes is a Paris-based architecture firm with an additional office in Nantes. It was founded in 2017 by Claire Borgès-Maunoury and Laurent Lustigman. Since then, the office has realized projects of various sizes.

From small sports facilities to the renovation of historic buildings, from the redesign of industrial sites to temporary installations. It is therefore not surprising that they were awarded the contract to adapt the military hospital.

The site served the architects as the basis for a digital transformation. The requirement to create a dynamic center for Smart Specialization Strategies companies resulted in the adaptation of the building on Air Base 217. The building dates back to the second half of the 20th century and was carefully renovated. The military hospital by Boman Architectes was given internal insulation made of wood wool in order to preserve the original façade.

Large bulletproof glass windows were installed for use as offices, which can be shaded on the outside with green fabric. Only a few changes were made to the interior. The exposed concrete structure was left untreated, as was the necessary building technology.

The visibility of the infrastructure is intended to create an ornamentation specific to the location. The building structure itself was only altered to a small extent in order to preserve the original identity of the site.

The new entrance area is now located in the area of the original spiral staircase. From there, you can access the two office floors and the meeting room on the first floor. The latter is separated from the entrance hall by a wooden wall.

The doors have the same surface finish as the wall, giving it a monolithic appearance. Acoustic curtains were also incorporated into the meeting room to ensure flexibility. This means that either 100 people can be accommodated at the same time, or up to three separate areas can be created.

The secure office wing of the center is located on the upper floor of the former military hospital. The so-called “Room of Secrets” is also housed here. This is a wooden construction clad with steel panels on the outside and structured with a wooden grid on the inside. The ceiling inside is brightly lit.

From the outside, it is clear that this is an addition to the historic building. It is symbolic of the new function of the military hospital and its forward-looking spatial program. The “Room of Secrets” is based on the rocket launch rooms of the 20th century. The area of Air Base 217 still retains a touch of secrecy and a top secret flair.

Buchner Bründler Architekten also treated the existing building with care when converting the old coach house in Basel.

Built in 1926, the Bauhaus building, the Meisterhaus ensemble and the arcade houses have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. They have undergone several phases of renovation since their construction. The current one, which affects the Masters’ Houses and the façade of the studio building, is due to be completed by the beginning of 2019. The scaffolding blocking the view of the famous studio balconies will then disappear again […]

Built in 1926, the Bauhaus building, the Meisterhaus ensemble and the arcade houses have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. They have undergone several phases of renovation since their construction. The current one, which affects the Masters’ Houses and the façade of the studio building, is due to be completed by the beginning of 2019. By then, the scaffolding blocking the view of the famous studio balconies will have disappeared again. Countless photos of the former residents still convey the relaxed atmosphere of a collective departure that was celebrated on the balcony.

Designer Marianne Brandt later recalled: “When Gropius intended to view his work, the Bauhaus he had just moved into in Dessau (with pleasure, as was assumed there), he was not a little shocked to discover that his Bauhaus students were using the flat roof and the front of the studio for balancing exercises and as façade climbers. Later, people probably got used to it.”

From January 2019, it will once again be possible to book overnight stays in the former residential studios of this modernist icon, a rare experience that cannot be compared to a classic hotel stay. You will look in vain for an elevator, television or minibar. The spacious rooms are furnished with Bauhaus tubular steel furniture, an extremely comfortable double bed, snow-white bed linen, a wardrobe and washbasin. Each floor has a shared toilet. The ultra-modern showers offer a level of comfort that was not available to the Bauhaus students, although the student residence was considered a sensation. The lowest floor belonged to female students, while the top floor was exclusively for future architects. The rent was 20 Reichsmark, including cleaning and gas. In 1930, the third and last director, Mies van der Rohe, changed the character of the building. He had several studios converted into classrooms. An intervention of which there is no trace today.

Among the cubic buildings of the Masters’ Houses, a prime example of modern avant-garde living, the semi-detached house of Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee is being renovated after twenty years of intensive use. The aim is to secure and repair the building fabric, restore the historical spatial situation and revise the special color and surface design. The Masters’ Houses also invite visitors to linger for a while, provided they are contemporary artists. Since 2016, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation has been offering a residency program for interested parties from all over the world, which concludes with a presentation of works.

Picture credits: Bauhaus Dessau Foundation (property scan) (I 36041/1-2) / © (Consemüller, Erich) Consemüller, Stephan (property original vintage print)