Keeping a Close Watch
An architect’s work does not stop at the drawing board. It is also field work, requiring a continuous presence right up to the final handover, as well as an ongoing dialogue with contractors. Today, this meticulous supervision of the construction process has become Fresh’s trademark. Dialogue with contractors begins as early as the tendering phase—I spent months negotiating on behalf of the client.
When forced to consider alternatives for budgetary reasons, our role is also to ‘simplify’ certain specifications and find satisfying alternative details that preserve the original architectural intent.
During construction, we also had to respond to unexpected setbacks. The presence of safes in the basement prevented us from carrying out the necessary soil tests for underpinning. While awaiting their removal, we had to make assumptions about the soil composition based on neighboring buildings in the area. When the test was finally conducted, the soil turned out to be far more friable than expected.
This discovery made the excavation particularly challenging, as each hole dug filled right back in instantly. We had to work in small sections, bring in specialists, and inject grouting material beneath the neighboring plots.
It took far longer than anticipated and demanded immense adaptability.
It was yet another valuable experience for Fresh, which has built true expertise in navigating this type of challenge.
The Fresh touch
This building represents the ‘luxury’ branch of a practice that also works in urban planning and social housing. Meeting these high expectations called for uncompromising rigor down to the finest details. The staircase, for instance, is the building’s core focal point as well as a key driver of value. Its aesthetic was therefore paramount. Drawing on our experience from the 54 Avenue Montaigne site, we opted to reinforce the tread structure so that the steps themselves act as lateral bracing, eliminating the need for St. Andrew’s cross braces. Combined with the glass balustrade, the result is light and refined.
The exposed steel frame needed to be equally refined. I had to invest significant effort into rallying and guiding the contractor, Dumez, to achieve a satisfactory finish. Conversely, when we uncovered the original brickwork behind old partitions, we chose to leave it exposed and untreated. The building derives its strength from the interplay between historical and contemporary elements—raw and polished alike. Soft stripping was a crucial stage in sifting fact from fiction within our assumptions and revealing what had been forgotten or hidden. It allowed us to confront our initial ideas with real-world conditions.
The rooftop glass canopy is the result of extensive exchanges with the facade contractor. We pushed the envelope until we achieved a structure that is both fire-rated and elegant, using extra-clear glass and a slender steel frame instead of concrete columns. This required bringing in fire safety experts, and negotiations lasted nearly six months. The outcome is a genuine innovation—a true tour de force. None of this would be possible without a capacity for listening and strong rapport with contractors.
An Agile and Collaborative Practice
To restore the heritage elements, selecting the right contractors was fundamental. The task was all the more complex as we had no original drawings—only period photographs and engravings. We chose to work with highly specialized craftspeople, establishing a hands-on, empirical methodology based on continuous dialogue and real-time trial and error.
The bell tower, which had been removed in the 1960s, was completely reconstructed. To guarantee feasibility, we opted for a more contemporary interpretation. The plans were developed hand-in-hand with the contractors, as they possess the true technical expertise. Our design deliberations took place directly on the rising structure itself, without a prototype—extending to the factory workshop around the timber frame, and all the way onto the roof to select the materials. After on-site testing, we settled on zinc and lead scale tiles.
To restore the facade’s balustrades, we sought a company capable of traditional ornamental ironwork. Together, we redrew everything using available documentation and neighboring buildings as references. A similar process was adopted with the roofing contractor: we provided real-time feedback directly on site without prior shop drawings from the trade, which is highly unusual. This approach demanded extensive dialogue and adaptability. What I admire about these contractors is their willingness to step out of their comfort zone to innovate. In doing so, they also push us, as architects, to experiment—nourishing both our design thinking and our practice.