Green light for the renovation of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, 50 years after its construction

In December, Matignon rendered a favorable arbitration on the renovation project of the second administrative city of France, indicated the prefect of Hauts-de-Seine Laurent Hottiaux.

"This is an exemplary project of ecological transition, because it will make it possible to divide by four the energy consumption of the prefecture, inaugurated in 1973", specified the prefect.

Works contracts, the amount of which could amount to several hundred million euros, will soon be launched. The difficulty will be to renovate the building designed by the architects André Wogenscky, Henri Chauvet and Alain Richard, while preserving the spaces listed as historical monuments such as the facades, the large halls, the monumental staircase or the offices of the prefectural body.

The work of the administrative city, which includes a dozen state services, will begin after the Olympic Games-2024 and will end in 2028, assures the prefect. During this period, nearly 1.200 agents will work in intermediate premises but the "public" part will remain on the site.

Work will begin with the construction of an additional building, "in the same spirit as the main one", then with the renovation of the main building which dominates the city of Nanterre and has within it typical retro decorations of the 1970s.

Since 2014, 26 film shoots have taken place in this building, recognizable by its "brise-soleil" at the windows.

On the first floor, just a few meters from the public reception, skylights, an endless stainless steel counter and black leatherette armchairs stand alongside a footbridge that looks like the corridors of Orly airport.

Twenty-three floors above, the prefect's office offers a breathtaking view of Paris and the "skyline" of La Défense, an ideal vintage cinema setting for corporate meeting scenes.

Inaugurated in 1973, the departmental administrative center was initially to be part of a much larger project.

In 1964, the order of André Malraux, then Minister of Cultural Affairs, also provided for the construction of four art schools and a "XNUMXth century museum". Projects that will ultimately not see the light of day.