Haussmann 171

‘Haussmann 171’ is a large firm of some 100 lawyers. AIM Hanemian Architects persuaded their decision-making partners that they could enable them to gain a 25th hour in the day – a considerable increase in efficiency – and thus won the contract to redesign and decorate the whole of their new premises.

With the theatrical nature of the legal profession in mind, AIM Hanemian Architects designed offices and meeting rooms in very different formats according to the degree of formality and confidentiality desired: business could be concluded more swiftly and a decision taken about how to proceed within the time-scale required, hence the gain of the ‘25th hour’ in the day.

These rooms range from a small library discreetly situated for confidential purposes behind two little sliding doors to a large imposing, low-ceilinged room with an 8 metre-long table to seat twenty people. In between them in size is a room that is both convivial and formal; at the centre of it is a triangular table which is a rare item of furniture and in fact a collector’s piece.

The open plan areas with planted partitions and greenery in these premises have been converted into modular private offices more appropriate to the confidential nature of legal activities. A system of high quality sound-proofed and double-glazed mobile partitions has been installed.

The entrance hall is too small for the importance of the firm and the scale of its activities. Mirrors have been carefully sited at various points, for example on the back wall of the little library to create the impression of a big room lined with books, and in the main staircase to double the visual impression of access to the first floor.