VILLA AND PARK COLLART

Description

Villa Collart’s history is closely tied to Steinfort’s economic revival in the 19th and 20th centuries, based on the Collart Brothers’ steel production, cement and brick factories.

Built as a double villa in 1904, Villa Collart served as the residence of the directors of the time.

Villa and grounds constituted a unique historic unit. Through our project we managed to have the entire Villa and Park given protected status as a National monument.

Laying out the grounds as an English country garden, to revalue the Villa and connect it to the adjacent residential districts and the Town hall, came to mind.
Existing paths on an adjoining piece of land were extended with a footbridge over the stream Eich and further developed.

The Villa had been complemented over the decades with small extensions to suit the changing requirements of the occupants. This aspect was incorporated and further developed in the restoration project.

The north façade was extended to permit the installation of a lift.
On the south facing side, the restaurant was extended with a terrace, under which the archives are stored.

The terrace, the footbridge and a planned canopy over the main entrance, all share the same motif, which we also discovered in historical photos of the Villa.
Constructed in steel, they will feature a filigree basket-weave motif.
The balustrade along the terrace will soon be covered by roses rising from the ground.

Between the two staircases, on every floor, a service area with toilets, kitchenette and storage rooms, was implemented which allowed to create an enfilade, consisting of the historically important rooms, overlooking the park, which can be either linked together or partitioned.

With its restaurant, an art gallery, seminar rooms, and the stunning English country garden that allows an easy accessibility to the site, the Villa Collart stands as a unique symbiosis of contemporary public activities in a historic structure.

Observation :
This project as a whole involves several categories like landscape architecture, restoration of a « Monument national » and interior design.
For that reason we estimate it is not possible to attribute the project to one single category (as proposed in the LAA) but consider it as a combination of many of them.
We kindly ask the jury to take our argumentation in consideration.