Converting offices into housing in Paris between 2001 - 2012

Converting offices into housing in Paris between 2001 - 2012
Between 2001 and 2012, permission was granted each year for just over 30,000 m² of office space to be converted into housing in Paris, representing about 400 new housing units per year of which a third were SRU social housing. The majority of the conversions were situated in the centre of Paris on the right bank where office density is highest. The reasoning behind each project varied greatly according to the type of developer.
While individuals (20% of the converted surface area) developed small spaces to match their personal requirements, social landlords (27% of the converted surface area) aimed to increase the SRU housing stock in response to local authority expectations, while for property developers (53% of the converted surface area) re-selling a property after renovation/conversion was their primary aim.
From a technical point of view, case studies of office blocks converted into housing show that the amount and nature of work needed was largely dependent on a building’s size, shape and date of construction. In Paris, since most buildings are old, 60% of conversions concerned Haussmannian or post-Haussmannian buildings, they were as a result restored to their original purpose.

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