In December 2007, under the lights of the Christmas market, LPA completed the handover of forty-four housing units; the result of in depth refurbishment and restoration of stunning historical buildings dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century situated on the prestigious Grand Rue in Strasbourg.
One of the buildings, The Renaissance Palace, used to house the mayors of Strasbourg, before being transformed into a convent. It later became a synagogue and finally a cinema complex.
LPA’s concept was based on the idea that elements of each period should be safeguarded and highlighted, while creating forty-four comfortable apartments which could be adapted to the client’s wishes and demands. It turned out to be a true challenge, since only two out of the forty-four apartments are identical, implying that considerable tailor-made work was involved.
For LPA, the prerequisite for a successful renovation project is creating the perfect balance between the respect for the old buildings and their history and the needs and demands of modern life. LPA managed to create this balance highly successfully in the 101 Grand Rue in Strasbourg project because although not one of the housing units can be considered as responding to the criteria of a ‘standard occupant’, all the apartments were rented in 3 days.