Cour Bareuzai is situated in the heart of Dijon. Itt is an ensemble of carefully renovated courtyards and mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries, in which Chapman Taylor created 2,300 square metres of spaces for retail, catering ans offices.
The project is a creation of 20 housing lots located in Dijon, including 14 flats and 6 townhouses. It consists of a succession of small buildings and privates homes with surrounding fences and open spaces looking into interior gardens.
This urban rhythm is strengthened by the recurrent use of stone. The general atmosphere of the street is strongly marked by the series of these mineral textures and the presence of abundant vegetation.
All over Europe buildings are empty and waiting for a new future. Transformations are usually all about the preservation of historically or architecturally significant parts of a building. In this case the building is completed in 2004 and the preservation act directed towards reuse. The disused building is a former Unilever Dijon mustard laboratory and closed in 2009. The building is in a good state but due to its wide volume not suitable for traditional work spaces. The construction budget is too low to exchange the façade or make serious alterations to the structure. A fine balance is needed between intervention and intelligent re-use of the existing.