International School of Paris

45 rue Cortambert - Converting an office building to a school

Architect's update #1

Preliminary Studies

The transformation of the buildings recently acquired by ISP to house its third campus on 45 rue Cortambert in Paris, was staged in three major phases.

A building diagnosis was caried out to assess the structural capacities of the building and its compliance with the educational program of the school, as well as to detect the presence of hazardous materials.

As the space occupation met the architectural needs for ISP's plans for the buildings, the perimeter of the work was defined to take place in the following three phases.

Phase 1 – Material disposal 
July to August 2016 

The Neo-Gothic building (hereafter Building V) was completed in 1890, at a time when asbestos was being introduced as a fireproof treatment material in building construction. The survey didn't reveal any presence of it there.

Asbestos was detected in the false ceiling structures of the 1950's building (hereafter Building X). It was removed completely in 2017.

Phase 2 – Conformity with school building regulations
September 2016 to September 2017

The buildings were first cured by removing old existing ventilation, piping, electrical cable wiring, false ceilings and partitions.

New and properly sized elevators were installed. The existing shaft in Building V had to be enlarged and consolidated. Full accessibility to all campus spaces for wheelchair users is ensured by a platform lift in Building V and a ramp to the lobby of Building X.

Building V: Old elevator shaft demolition and enlargement

After the framework is in place, concrete is poured to build the structural walls of the shaft at the new elevator size

The Building V slab structure was reinforced to support the loads required by the school activity. The old, damaged parquet floor and its joists were removed to reveal the 19th-century steel structural beams.

Composite floor decks with sheer studs were then bound to the existing steel beams to increase the strength of the slabs.

The composite floor deck principle

Once the profiled steel decking is in place, it is fixed by nailing the studs to the top of the steel beams. A welded mesh is then installed all over the floor, which, once the concrete slab is poured, binds together all these components as one single structural unit to increase the slab load capacity.

In compliance with French regulations for public buildings, the campus, which was previously used as a private office space, had to be equipped with sufficient horizontal and vertical fire escapes.

A staircase was added in the central part of Building V, adding to the existing historical staircase's escape capacity in case of fire. For that purpose, slabs were modified on the first, second and third central floors to adjust the size of the stairwell.

Phase 3 – Architectural and technical fit-outs 
October 2017 to May 2018

Site work is now in its last phase. The building will first be equipped to serve its technical needs for electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation.

Architectural fit-outs, such as partitions, doors, false ceilings, lightings, floor coverings, and painting will drive the project to completion.