2006 – News MIPIM
“It is a challenge I particularly favour, it is all about mixing harmoniously modern architecture with ancient fabric”
Aestheticism and a reflection on the origins of a project lead Jean Hanemian’s work. Agence Hanemian, which he founded I, 1976 in Paris, is a French member of the AIM Architects group, which includes David Cullearn in the UK and Architects 61 in Singapore, and will compete once again this year for the MIPIM Awards.
Agence Hanemian has a long-term relationship with MIPIM.
“It is a remarkable event“, Jean Hanemian says. “Since the first edition, I never failed to come as a visitor. MIPIM gives a unique opportunity to meet most of your clients and prospects within a few days, in a particularly relaxed environment and atmosphere. In one single spot you can meet managers for projects from all over the world, from Dubai to China, from Barcelona to St. Quentin-en-Yvelines in France. Every single personality or company who counts in the world real-estate business is at Cannes. It is very impressive and, of course, very useful.”
Some of Jean Hanemian’s current (and future) clients were encountered at MIPIM. Redevco, belonging to the Breninkmeijer family, owner of the C&A group, is one of those clients. In 2002, Agence Hanemian was nominated in the MIPIM Awards for the renovation of the Ellipse building, a Redevco project comprising 5,200sq m of office space in the heart of La Defense in Paris. The renovation work did not limit itself to pure aestheticism. All of the internal services were re-examined to take advantage of the latest technology in order to increase comfort and the functionality of the building. Jean Hanemian is currently working on another Redevco project, the renovation and restructuring of two blocks of buildings located on the rue de Rivoli in Paris. The project includes 2,000sq m of retailing and 10,000sq m of high-quality housing.
Work will begin this year on the housing scheme, and the whole program is due for completion in 2008. The buildings previously housed the Belle Jardinière department store, and some parts date back to the 17th century. “I am extremely interested in the project, since it is a challenge I particularly favour, it is all about mixing harmoniously modern architecture with ancient fabric”, Hanemian says. In order to meet the challenge, he called upon two historians, Gaetan Bonini and Jean- François Cabestan, to join the team.
Such references to the past embedded in the future have also oriented the agency’s architectural work in the creation of an innovative building called the Memory and Peace Museum and Library (MPML) in Dubai for the United Arab Emirates. “Part of the originality of this 100,000sq m building is the ring-shaped structure – with no columns or beams – used for historical and geographical reasons. In oriental art, the circle is at the origin of all designs and patterns. In oriental architecture there is no correspondence between the inside of a building and its exterior appearance. As far as geography is concerned, in a land where sun plays such an important role in everyday life, the arcades (seven pairs of rings) have been conceived to support the building and create shaded areas”, Hanemian explains.
