Structural and general building work in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Between 1542 and 1547 the village’s defensive system was modernised by the construction of a monumental bastioned wall, taking in part of the medieval enceinte while reducing its perimeter to the south. The ramparts and the adjoining cemetery have been classified as historic monuments by order of 20 February 1945. A map drawn by the engineer Niquet in 1705 shows the village with the same structure as today: the plot pattern within the walls has remained stable for more than three centuries.

That fact has a direct structural consequence, and it is the commune’s principal one: on a plot pattern unchanged for three hundred years, party walls are old and entangled, and making good a load-bearing element almost always involves a neighbour. Outside the walls, the territory is occupied by mas, bastides and villas set on agricultural terraces and wooded slopes. The commune falls within seismic zone 4 under decree no. 2010-1255.

The commune falls within seismic zone 4 — moderate — under decree no. 2010-1255. On a new build the consequence is handled by calculation and surprises no one. On a mas whose load-bearing element is being made good it is more delicate: the seismic rule reasons in terms of overall bracing, whereas old fabric holds by mass and by friction. Working on a single link in a chain that was never calculated therefore means first understanding how the structure stands today — before deciding what to put in its place.

That is what governs our way of proceeding: survey before any removal, shoring sized on what exists rather than on the future work, underpinning carried out in sections rather than in one operation. The principle holds for a terrace wall too: built without binder, it regulates water as much as it retains earth, and making it good with mortar would turn it into a dam. The art of dry-stone construction has, since 28 November 2018, been inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage of humanity — which says well enough that it is not improvised.

The slopes are structured by agricultural terraces held by stone walls — the restanques — whose preservation is expressly targeted by the listed site. The art of dry-stone walling used for these walls has been inscribed since 28 November 2018 on the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Saint-Paul-de-Vence is also the only commune in our territory in a Provençal hinterland register rather than a maritime villégiature one: local stone, lime renders, timber framing, tiled roofs.

A foothill commune with no sea frontage, it is the only one where salt atmosphere is not the governing factor for metalwork. On the other hand, the day-night temperature range is wider here than on the coast, maritime inertia no longer playing its part: renders and materials move more. Structure first, then — followed by a complete renovation reviving timber and render, bespoke finishes and interiors in the Provençal register, an extension merging into the terraces. Our crafts in Saint-Paul-de-Vence are ordered accordingly.