Asnières-sur-Seine: abandoned for decades, the Lisch station will be reborn
Bechu & Associés appointed for the rehabilitation of the building
The municipality, owner of the listed monument since last summer, has just appointed the architectural firm Bechu & Associés for the rehabilitation works of the building.
The municipality, owner of the listed monument since last summer, has just appointed the architectural firm Bechu & Associés for the rehabilitation works of the building. Without yet having a definite idea of its future use. Here is what the Lisch station, originally built for the world exhibitions of 1878 and 1889, could soon look like.
The renaissance project has begun in Asnières-sur-Seine
Approval of the second stage of the Lisch station’s renaissance.
Step one: buy back the station, which has been abandoned for ages, from SNCF. Step two: appoint an architectural firm to carry out the complete rehabilitation of the listed monument, works that will be financed by the city. Step three: launch a call for expressions of interest (EOI) in order to find an operator and a project to make use of the site in the future. For the past three years, and after many twists and turns, the city of Asnières-sur-Seine has been working on the “case” of the Lisch station, a passenger building typical of the late nineteenth century, with its magnificent glass roof and its volume of brick and metal. The municipality has just validated the second stage of its renaissance, by entrusting the rehabilitation works to the architectural firm Bechu et Associés, under the supervision of the regional directorate of cultural affairs (Drac). The firm notably renovated the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris and was part of the design team for the D2 tower in La Défense.
First installed on the Champ-de-Mars, in Paris
We were first focused on the renovation of the château, which took us a lot of time and resources, recalls Manuel Aeschlimann, mayor of Asnières since 2014.
He had hoped that the Lisch station would be saved thanks to a private investor and the Inventons la Métropole competition in 2019. But the following year, Covid derailed the project. Unfortunately, on such projects, the private sector remains very unpredictable, the mayor continues. We concluded that saving the Lisch station could only happen through the town hall. Built by Juste Lisch (1828–1910) for the world exhibitions of 1878 and 1889, the building was originally installed on the Champ-de-Mars in Paris, before being dismantled and moved to Asnières in 1897 to serve as the “electric station” of the omnibus line between Paris and Bois-Colombes. In 1937, the station was converted into workshops and, for lack of maintenance, deteriorated over the years. Its demolition was considered in the early 1980s. It was only saved thanks to the mobilization of local residents, who managed to have it listed on the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments in 1985. After several unsuccessful projects — such as its relocation to the departmental park of Chanteraines —, it is therefore only forty years after its listing that its renovation is finally confirmed with the early April selection of the architect who will carry out the works for an estimated amount of 8 million euros. This budget explains why the sale price of the station set by SNCF for the city of Asnières last summer was “only” 425,000 euros.
Discover the newsDiscover the newsA sports facility, cultural venue, or mixed-use space? The municipality now hopes for a building permit application by the end of this year, before moving on to two years of works. Our mission is to make the building watertight and airtight, in accordance with the requirements for historic buildings, insists Manuel Aeschlimann. The interior fit-out will be done in the following stage. For what follows, the municipality does not seem to have a definite idea. The call for expressions of interest, which will be launched before summer, has no predetermined purpose. The Lisch station could thus become a sports facility, a cultural venue, or a mixed-use space. Its potential is significant given its location, near the future Grand Paris Express station in Bois-Colombes. And the building clearly recalls Hangar Y in Meudon, transformed into a cultural facility. We have only one imperative, insofar as it is the city that will finance the works: that the Lisch station is a place that benefits 100% of the residents of Asnières, adds Manuel Aeschlimann.
