Rehabilitation of the Blue Flag of Amiens

Located in the heart of the Zoo of Amiens (80), Le Pavillon Bleu has been entirely rehabilitated while respecting the original architecture thanks to the soft wave roof tile Vieille Panne 451 red.

This tile from the Koramic brand has its origin in Flanders. Its authentic appearance and its wavy profile are assets for homes in the North. Thanks to its assumed regional character, this rehabilitation is a vibrant testimony to a luxuriant period extending from the end of the 1th century to the beginning of the XNUMXst World War.

An emblematic place in Amiens to be completely rebuilt

This former dairy became, after extension, a ginguette in 1898 then a nightclub until the 2000s had been disused since then, despite its remarkable location. Along the Basse Selle canal, the building is located in the zoological park of Amiens, a place for walking known to everyone in the region.

Property of the Métropole, it was the subject of a call for tenders for its rehabilitation and the creation of a restaurant area. The Socréa agency, heritage architects, was responsible for the project.

For Florent Basset, one of the partners, "we had to get out of the usual sites of old buildings, touch all the trades, and find the traces of Anatole Bienaimé's original project to get as close as possible to it. possible ". This architect, renowned in the region at the end of the XNUMXth century, is particularly known for his seaside villas in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage or Berck-sur-Mer, some of which are classified as historical monuments. Houses often rich in inventive decorations and architectural audacity.

Summon the spirit of an era

For Florent Basset, it was important to rediscover the richness of “the extravagant picturesque architecture, which combines technical progress of this period and literary imaginations”. Using found archives and old postcards, he tried to get as close as possible to the period villa. The charm of the site comes from the harmony combining diversity and alignment of several forms of architecture. Indeed, a dairy, a tower, a kiosk, a room and then a polygonal veranda are superimposed, introduced by Japanese-style gates and footbridges. All aligned facing the park and the canal. Florent Basset notes that “all the facades face south for maximum sunshine. The arrangement of the basements and the windows brings rigor to this profusion of different forms”.

A tile chosen from a postcard

Traditionally, constructions in the region use terracotta for the roof. Florent Basset used an old postcard to find the right tile reference. “I wanted to render a ripple with a diagonal scale effect. Koramic's Vieille Panne 451 soft wave tile pattern matched perfectly. There was no hesitation”. The roof is embellished with terracotta figurines and ridge galleries, typical decorations of the region during the Belle Époque. The finials in the shape of animals (heron, squirrel, owl) make up a bestiary recalling the presence of the zoo all around. Florent Basset specifies that the installation of the tiles was facilitated by the available accessories, and underlines that “the dialogue between roofers and carpenters was essential to optimize the installation, especially for the most delicate places”.

A reinvented interior decoration

For the interior architecture, Florent Basset followed in the footsteps of the architects of the time by rediscovering their sources of inspiration: Japan, Jules Verne with in particular Five Weeks in a Balloon as well as the great technical advances of the time such as the Eiffel Tower or the Pavillon Baltard. Entirely rebuilt, the Blue Flag had to display “spectacular brilliance”. This is the reason why, a single color of tile was chosen to affirm a reconstruction full of vibrations. The Blue Pavilion has regained its original colors and its curious walkers raise their heads to recognize a snail here or a wader perched on the roof there...