Moving away from conventional single-story workshop models, the Tracks Architectes developed a vertical approach, incorporating interconnected levels that foster user connectivity, thus enhancing workflow. Furthermore, incorporating patios and skylights allows natural light to enter the interior, creating a welcoming and stimulating workspace.
The reuse of existing buildings aligns with sustainability criteria, significantly reducing the carbon footprint. In addition, the judicious choice of construction materials, such as wood, reflects traditional methods that minimise the ecological impact. By maintaining the site's manufacturing purpose, the intervention preserves and revitalises the site, enabling contemporary production practices.
Renovation of a former tobacco factory by Tracks Architectes. Photograph by Guillaume Amat.
Project description by Tracks Architectes
The project for the new leather’s manufacture in Riom is being established within a section of the town’s former Tobacco Factory, built in 1877. Located near the city center, just 400 meters from the train station, the twenty or so buildings are bordered to the east by railway tracks, and to the north, south, and west by residential areas and intermediate housing.
The rehabilitation of the Tobacco Factory preserves and enhances the building's envelope and roof, which have been listed in the Inventory of Historic Monuments since 2004. The project integrates itself humbly and discreetly within the existing structure. Unlike the group's usual single-story workshops, this building necessitates a multi-story leather’s manufacture facility. A vertical design approach was therefore adopted to ensure an efficient and effective workflow and connectivity across all spaces.
The intervention aims to maintain the site’s manufacturing vocation, preserve exceptional craftsmanship, and revitalize this industrial heritage by adapting it to contemporary production practices: "destroy as little as possible and build as little as possible." Unsightly additions (such as freight elevators and rooftop exhausts) have been removed, and in keeping with the original roof trusses, some roof sections have been replaced with skylights or an open patio, bringing natural light into the heart of the workshops.
The new entrance is marked by grand openings that extend the existing ones. Additionally, a fully glazed footbridge now connects the first floors of the two buildings. Finally, to make use of the attic space with its magnificent curved concrete framework, skylights integrated into the sloping roof provide illumination for the workspaces.
By repurposing an existing building, the project significantly reduces its carbon footprint. The use of bio-based materials (wooden structures, hemp insulation) aligns with traditional construction methods while minimizing ecological impact (natural ventilation). Furthermore, the landscaping project creates a green setting for the site, incorporating rainwater retention strategies and highlighting a selection of local plant species.
