It feels like an episode of the series La Casa de Papel. Remember, the robbers had embarked on the heist of the century, that of the Bank of Spain in Madrid, but the vault where the gold bars were hidden filled with water if anyone tried to enter it. In Lille, the head office of the Scalbert-Dupont bank, the historic headquarters of two founding banks of the CIC, dating from 1929, was equipped with a protection system around the water also against intrusion attempts. The vault was surrounded by a gallery filled with water and guards monitored the water level to ensure it did not drop. If a tunnel pierced the gallery, the water level decreased, which made it possible to report an intrusion.
The safe room, the future centerpiece of the hotel
The safe room will become a swimming pool and a wellness area, in the future hotel four-star Oceania Les Augustins, made up of 88 rooms. “We had the opportunity to use this gallery as a peripheral space for technical installations that we do not want to make visible.», explains Laurence Goardon, architect from the A26 agency in charge of the project. “We took the vault room in the basement, this hidden, hidden, even confidential space, always closed, and we brought it to light. It will be the signature of this hotel», she adds. In order to preserve the atmosphere of the place, the safes will be displayed like luxury jewelry with the historic ‘Fichet’ padlocks. The spacious bank hall will become a convivial space open to hotel customers but also to all Lille residents. Lounges and coworking rooms are also offered.
“As an architect, the subject of changing the destination of places, of “how I can do to create as little new surface as possible, to insert myself into the existing”, is central. The architect’s job is to highlight the potential of the building and to go further than what the client could imagine. The architect is the best advice for transforming spaces. There is no more land, new construction is rare, I believe in the diversity of buildings which will become attractive places», explains Laurence Goardon. Delivery of the almost brand new hotel is scheduled for spring 2025. Construction started a year ago after cleaning work. “We no longer go to a hotel just to stay, today we look for a place to escape. We are no longer at home, we are invited into a universe where we want to project ourselves», concludes the architect.