The indignation of the inhabitants of Les Sables d’Olonne and of all those who appreciate the Vendée seaside resort seems to be bearing fruit. Villa Mirasol, an emblematic construction on the Promenade du Remblai dating back to 1914, appeared disfigured last June. At the end of the authorized work, the owner of the premises, who is a franchisee of a famous American chain of hamburgers, had installed a meeting room on the roof of the building. And it was when the site tarpaulins were removed that everyone was able to get an idea, by discovering this contemporary addition, very visible and very out of harmony with the rest of the construction.
17.000 signatures
From mid-June, complaints from residents but also from elected officials were quick to pour in, everyone wondering how we had been able to authorize the construction of what the mayor of the town, Yannick Moreau, describes as a “wart “. The petition demanding the removal of this extension, launched by the Sablais association for the protection of heritage Apropo, has gathered more than 17,000 signatures to date. According to the comments reported by Ouest France, a solution is about to be found. It would go through the deconstruction of the meeting room and a global overhaul of the architectural project.
The room in question would gain in width but would be installed towards the back of the building to lose visibility and would have to strictly respect the maximum authorized height (which is not the case in the current version). Finally, rather than playing on the contrast between the original building and the extension, this time it would be a question of a much more discreet integration: exit the large bay windows in favor of openings resembling as much as possible the existing, same thing for the colors which will have to blend discreetly into the whole. It would even seem that to avoid any new hiccups, a life-size model of the new room would be tested to ensure the rendering and its visibility from the street. For its part, the Actu.fr site recalls that while discussions are going well between the town of Les Sables d’Olonne, the architect of the Buildings of France and the Drac (Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs), no final decision has been taken. been taken, apart from that of not leaving this extension as is.