The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

Francis Allard
LEPTAB, Universit de La Rochelle, France

Grard Guarracino
DGCB, Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de lEtat, Vaulx en Velin, France

Dominique Groleau
Cerma, Ecole Nationale Suprieure dArchitecture de Nantes, France

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the rehabilitation project of the Utrillo Building located in La Rochelle, France. The present project has been launched within the national frame of Urban Renovation Plan. It does not consist only of the building rehabilitation, but it aims at a real urban renovation replacing the buildings in a new urban scenario. In the present paper we will focus mainly on the structural aspects of this rehabilitation project.

1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE STUDY 1.1 Location of the project The Utrillo building is located in the Mireuil district of La Rochelle. It is a property of OPHLM de La Rochelle, a Public Social Housing Society. It is an example of the social architecture of the end of the sixties. Built in 1968, it needs now a strong rehabilitation which aim is not only to improve the building itself but to change, its social and architectural image. This project is included in a more general frame of urban renovation of socially sensible neighborhoods (ZUS) supported by ANRU (National Agency for Urban Renovation). These programs aim at a general environmental and social recovery of these neighborhoods associating, urban, environmental, social and architectural objectives. Figure 1 presents a plan view of the location

Figure 1: General location of the Utrillo building.

This building built in 1968 is 230m long with 9 levels and a total of 233 apartments.
COST C16 Improving the Quality of Existing Urban Building Envelopes - Structures. R. di Giulio, Z. Bozinovski, L.G.W. Verhoef (eds.) IOS Press, 2007. 2007 IOS Press and the Authors. All rights reserved.

The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

1.2 General objectives of the project The present renovation is associating three main goals: A substantial modification of the building morphology by breaking down its uniformity an d identifying clearly various housing units: 2 slots and 3 arches are planned through the building, creation of two adjacent buildings and penthouse apartments. A real reinsertion of the building in its social and urban environment, A new allocation of spaces enabling a clearer definition of uses, improving the appropriation by the users, improving the security and creating smaller housing units with a clear identity. 2 PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE STRUCTURE

2.1 Typology of the structure 2.1.1 Faades Built at the end of the sixties, this building is a good example of the heavy prefabrication method used in France at this time. Figures 2 (a & b) shows the main two faades of the existing building,

(a)

(b)

Figure 2: General views of the faades of Utrillo building

The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

2.1.2 Foundations As a good soil is founded at a low depth, (around 2m) The building has only superficial foundations. Figure 3 shows the foundation principle.

Figure 3: Superficial foundations of the Utrillo Building

2.1.3 General Structure The general structure of the Utrillo building is made of prefabricated elements (walls and ceilings). The wall elements are 2.53 meter high. Three different thicknesses of walls are used: 14 cm for partition walls, 29 cm for walls located near the dilatation joints and 25 cm for the faades. All these walls are simply assembled together by a pin system. This gives to the general structure a modular architecture of regular elements. Each unit connected to two staircases represents 32 apartments.

Figure 4: Modular element of the structure

2.2 Problems concerning the structure This structure is in a good general state. No important disorder has been found. The only structural problems are related to corrosion problems specifically at the balconies (fig. 5a) or at the junction between walls and balconies (Fig. 5b).

The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

(a)

(b)

Figure 5 : Examples of corrosion effects on the external balcony structure (a) and at the junction between wall and balcony (b)

All the problems due corrosion should be cured during the general rehabilitation of the building. Other elements as fluid networks or conformity to fire regulation will also be checked but they have no real impact on the structure itself. Furthermore, there is now particular problem due to seismic loads which are very small in this region. The terrace has been retrofitted recently and no damage due to rain or other climatic events can be found. The building itself is rather healthy and safe. The main problem due the rehabilitation is the consequence of urbanistic and architectural choices. It has been decide to modify strongly the external and internal aspect of the building in order to create smaller housing units with 26 to 36 apartments with a strong social identity and a direct link to a specific urban area (street and backyard). In order to improve the overall quality of live of the inhabitants, all the entry halls and staircases will be redesigned and special spaces will be allocated to bikes parking and selective garbage treatment. All the networks (phone, television water and other fluids) will be distributed in technical shafts secured again fire propagation. 2.3 Actions From a structural point of view, the main challenge of this project is to create from a continuous and linear architecture, a sequential one by eliminating a part of the building and creating tree main arches through it. This is in fact planned while the building is still habited. Due to the prefabricated structure of the walls, this strong modification of the building cannot be done without designing an additional structure. Figure 6 presents the general layout of the rehabilitation project. The lower image presents the actual faade and the two upper ones represent the two new faades.

The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

Figure 6: General presentation of the rehabilitation project.

The main problem in realizing the arches is that it needs to build a new structure able to support the loads due to the three upper levels without creating new solicitations or instabilities to the structure. Thus, the main problem is to solve the interface between the existing structure and the arches. In order to avoid any cracks or disorders, this structure will be build internally to the building. The deconstruction will take place only after the achievement of this structure. Figures 7 and 8 presents the existing structure and the integration of the arches.

Figure 7 : Existing structure

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The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

Figure 8: Integration of the arches in the existing structure.

2.4 Description of the works 2.4.1 Specific deconstruction problems 2.4.1.1 Walls The walls are supporting compression loads, thus it is not possible to deconstruct any walls without integrating a new structure. In order to create the arche, it is necessary to deconstruct on 11.5m wide on 5 levels without altering the stability of the 4 additional levels. 2.4.1.2 Ceiling The ceiling elements are working without any continuity from one to another. Their deconstruction does not create any particular stability problem. The pins assuring the link with the remaining walls will be maintain in order to avoid any weakness of the structure at these locations. 2.4.1.3 Technical shafts The technical shafts being completely independent of the overall structure, one special support will be created in order to maintain the existing ones in the 4 remaining levels. 2.4.2 Constructive solution for the arches In order to support the loads of the 4 remaining levels, it was proposed to ??? use 7 concrete porticos founded on 7 short concrete piles. The interface with the existing structure is made of a steel structure fixed by a controlled tightening of the walls under the last ceiling. The porticos will also be tightened to the walls. The use of a steel structure imposes to avoid any sliding between this structure and the walls. This is why a specific system using a reinforcement by carbon fibers and polyesters will be used.

The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

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Figure 9: Detail of the assembling between existing walls and the steel structure.

Figure 10 describes the positioning of the steel structure.

Figure 10: Section of the steel structure under the floor of level 6

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The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

Finally, the whole steel structure will be installed and supported by the concrete porticos as shown on figure 11.

Figure 11: Plane view of the steel structure.

Then the whole structure will be supported by 7 porticos in reinforced concrete. Figure 12 gives the repartition of the 7 porticos under the floor of level 6.

Figure 12: Position of the 7 porticos under the floor of level 6.

The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

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All the porticos are similar even if the one located at balcony level is more solicited. All are reinforced as this one. In order to maintain a good link between the walls and the piles of the porticos, a specific system using U steel embedded in the wall as detailed on figure 13.

Figure 13: Assembling between the piles of the porticos in reinforced concrete and the existing walls.

Figure14: Final view of the reinforced concrete porticos.

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The Utrillo Building Rehabilitation Project

3 REFLEXIONS The project is now finished and the principal work is planned for the very next weeks. The urban refurbishment of the Mireuil District in La Rochelle can be considered as a good illustrative example of the French policy of improvement of social, architectural and environmental renovation projects of social housing.