A manifesto place
Our studio, at 10 rue de Fontenay opposite the conservatory, embodies our philosophy: an 18th‑century space restored according to the same principles — lime, terracotta tiles, conserved joinery, and invisible integration of modern services. This coherence is methodological rather than merely aesthetic.
Versailles is one of France’s most concentrated and demanding heritage territories. At the Atelier we have developed detailed knowledge of the Versailles protected sector, its master craftsmen and the requirements of the Architects of Historic Monuments (Architectes des Bâtiments de France).
The Atelier
Twenty years of opening walls, reading structures and negotiating with stone: this practice has convinced me that restoration is an architectural act that calls for more humility than ambition.
A project is above all a collective adventure.
After more than twenty years of project management on heritage buildings in Buenos Aires and Paris, Antoine de Gironde founded the Atelier in Versailles and brings together a small, dedicated team united by a single requirement: to read a building before touching it.
Beyond the in‑house team, each project mobilises collective expertise — historians, engineers, photographers, master craftsmen — whose intersecting perspectives make the site’s memory speak to contemporary needs.
Our conviction
A historic building is not a frozen monument. It is living material, traversed by time and shaped by those who lived in it before us. It speaks to those who know how to listen.
Restoration begins with understanding: analysing a structure, deciphering its history, respecting its materials and questioning its uses. Sometimes a single strike of the tool will reveal an 18th‑century façade hidden beneath a century of render.
Sometimes the deformation of a floor tells the story better than any archive. This attentive study of the fabric is at the heart of our approach.
When a project requires it, a contemporary intervention may be introduced, provided it is legible and clearly related to what already exists.
Antoine de Gironde, architect DESA, graduate of theÉcole Spéciale d'Architecture de Paris and the Université de Belgrano de Buenos Aires. Registered with the Order of Architects under number 084305, he founded the Atelier in Versailles in 2015. Recipient of the City of Versailles Prix du Ravalement, 2023.
Inhabiting our heritage
“Restoring is writing a new page in a place’s history without erasing the previous ones.”
Be present, not merely available
A restoration project is a human undertaking with inherent uncertainties. The Atelier commits to regular on‑site presence and clear communication at every stage, with rigour and care.
Name constraints clearly
We state what is possible, what is not, and why — frankly and without evading technical, regulatory, budgetary or scheduling realities.
Build with the long term in mind
Each decision affects a heritage that will outlive us. This time scale informs our choices: materials, details, interventions and the reversibility of each action.
Share the numbers throughout the work
The client follows the project’s financial evolution in real time, from the first estimate to final acceptance.
One voice from start to finish
A single contact accompanies you from sketch to site handover. No dilution of responsibility, no break in transmission.
Read before intervening
Every building has its own logic, balance and vulnerabilities. We decode them before any intervention through observation, archival research and dialogue with the fabric.
Working on an historic building means touching the intimate history of those who lived in it before us. This requires a relationship of trust that the Atelier takes seriously.
What guides us
Restoring is already sustainable building
“The most ecological building is often the one that already exists.”
Preserving an old structure means conserving the grey energy already invested in its construction: foundations, walls, roofs and floors.
The materials we use — lime, stone, plaster, wood — age with the building rather than against it. This approach reconciles respect for the existing fabric with improved contemporary comfort and energy performance adapted to the original construction logic.
RGE‑certified, the Atelier advocates an energy‑renovation approach compatible with historic buildings, favouring interventions designed to last as long as the structures they serve. Several of our projects have been supported by the Fondation du Patrimoine.
We do not merely restore stone. We inhabit history so we can better pass it on.
