The prime contractors
Intervening on a historic monument requires in some cases recourse to a qualified masterpiece. The owner of the historic monument shall choose the persons responsible for the work, in accordance with his own rules, under the scientific and technical supervision of the State.
The prime contractors
The choice of a supervisor for work on a building classified or listed as a historic monument is conditioned by the type of protection (inscription or classification) and for buildings classified by the type of work (repair, restoration, modification) and by the nature of the owner.
A specific supervisor is required for work on organs protected as historical monuments.
Between 2005 and 2009, the project management texts on historic monuments were brought into line with European law.
Project management of the restoration work on a building classified as historical monuments
For the classified Crown-owned buildingsWhether or not they are supplied to or made available to its public establishments, the principal contractor for the restoration work is thechief architect of historical monuments by order of the Minister of Culture (article R. 621-27 of the French Heritage Code).
For the Non-Government Classified Buildings (article R. 621-28 of the French Heritage Code), the contraaing authority shall freely choose the contraaing authority (subject to any competitive procedures applicable to it), under the scientific and technical supervision of the State, from among the following categories of architects, designated as “ofqualified architects ” :
chief architects of historical monuments, including the territorially competent chief architect;
− architects who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union (including France) or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, established in one of those States and meeting the conditions required to be registered in a regional table of the Order of Architects under the provisions of Article 10 of Law No. 77-2 of 3 January 1977 and of those for taking part in the competition instituted by 2° of I of article 2 of decree no. 2007-1405 of 28 September 2007.
The competences of the architect are considered sufficient and necessary when they satisfy the cumulative conditions allowing him to present himself to the interview of the jury for the competition on access to the body of the chief architects of the historical monuments, meaning is:
- Meet the conditions to be registered in a regional table of the order of architects under the provisions of theArticle 10 of the Law of 3 January 1977;
- Hold a diploma of specialization and deepening mention "architecture et patrimoine" or any other degree of equivalent level;
- To justify a regular professional activity in the field of restoration of old buildings during the ten years preceding the opening of the consultation.
In the case of diplomas presented as equivalent to DSA mention "architecture and heritage", the Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs systematically questions the Directorate-General for Heritage and Architecture (Sub-Directorate for Historic Monuments and Heritage Sites) in order to verify the equivalence of the diploma presented.
Concerning the third condition, the architect must demonstrate a regular professional activity during the 10 years preceding his application in the field of restoration of the old building, either as an employee in a public or private agency or agency operating on historic buildings, or as a Liberal.
These cumulative conditions concern the jurisdiction of the same natural person, as confirmed by the Administrative Court of Montpellier in a judgment no. 1503113 dated 21 September 2017.
Application submitted by a legal person: companies may also apply for such contracts of project management, provided they have an architect within them who fulfils the cumulative conditions mentioned above.
The administrative court of La Réunion ruled in an order no. 1801183 of 30 January 2019 that“There is no requirement that the specialized architect be a majority partner or that he or she exercise a corporate mandate within the architectural company representing the applicant group.”
Upon the choice of the supervisor and in all cases before the signature of the contract and the submission of the application for authorization of works, the contracting authority shall communicate to the regional prefect (DRAC/ CRMH), evidence that the training and professional experience of the chosen supervisor attest to historical knowledge, the architectural and technical requirements necessary for the design and conduct of the work on the building under restoration.
Project management of repair work on a building classified as a historical monument
For the classified Crown-owned buildings, Ministry of Culture, the repair works of these buildings are proposed, in agreement with the user services, by the architect of the buildings of France territorially competent, who ensures the project management.
For other buildings classified as belonging to the State, they may also be insured by an official architect holding the diploma of specialization and deepening in architecture, mention «architecture and heritage».
For classified buildings handed over to public institutions of the State, these works are proposed and the project management is ensured either by the architect of the buildings of France territorially competent, or by an architectural planner of the State specializing in heritage assigned to the public establishment.
For the Non-Government Classified Buildings, the contraaing authority shall select the contraaing authority from among Diploma of specialization and in-depth study in architecture with mention "architecture et patrimoine" or any other recognized diploma of equivalent level. This equivalence will also be assessed by the Directorate-General for Heritage and Architecture (sub-directorate for historic monuments and heritage sites).
On the decision of the regional prefect and at the request of the owner or the state-owned assignee, the architect of the Buildings of France can ensure, exceptionally, the mastery of these repair works in the following three cases:
- situation of danger for buildings, that is to say when there is an immediate and sudden risk of irreversible damage;
- imminent danger to persons;
- where the contraaing authority establishes that it has been unable to find a competent public or private supervisor. This failure may be established, for persons subject to the Code of Public Procurement, only after the advertising and competition procedures laid down in that Code have been implemented and in accordance with the procedures laid down therein. Thus, the deficiency will be established in reference to thearticle R. 2122-2 of the code la commande publique, that is, where no applications or offers have been submitted within the prescribed time limits, only inadmissible applications or inappropriate offers have been submitted.
Schools awarding a diploma of specialization and deepening in architecture mention "architecture and heritage":
Chaillot School (Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine)
École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-Belleville
Project management of alteration work on a building classified as a historical monument
This work includes all work that is neither maintenance (Annex 1 of the circular relating to the control of work on classified and inscribed historical monuments specifies the nature of maintenance work), nor repair or restoration work, that is, new construction in a historic monument. This includes, but is not limited to, restructuring, fit-up, equipment or technical installations.
Where the work envisaged by an owner, or a public assignee, includes an amendment within the meaning of Article L. 621-9 of the Heritage Code:
if the share of new work is incidental, this work is included in the mission of the specialized architect (the chief architect of historic monuments or the “qualified” architect as previously defined for restoration work);
− if the new work is predominant, the project management tasks corresponding to that work shall be assigned by the contracting authority to a contracting authority of its choice in compliance with the applicable rules. When they are likely to have an impact on the protected interest of the building (that is to say the interest of art or history which justified the protection under the title of historical monuments), the State services define the architectural and historical constraints to be respected.
If the impact is such that it justifies the follow-up of a heritage specialist, it is recommended to assign a specific assignment on the treatment of classified parts to a qualified architect either by a separate contract, integrating this mission into the global contract management market.
The definition of accessory and predominant does not refer only to the economic value of the work but also to its impact on the monument. The respect for the integrity of the building is then taken into account through the definition of architectural constraints in the program and throughout the operation by the departments responsible for scientific and technical control.
Project management of works on a building listed as a historical monument
When work on a listed historic building is subject to a building permit under the Urban Planning Code, the use of an architect is mandatory under penalty of inadmissibility of the building permit application.
The use of architects is not compulsory for natural persons, agricultural holdings or cooperatives using approved agricultural equipment who declare that they want to build or modify for themselves (Article R. 431-2 of the Urban Planning Code):
- a non-agricultural construction with a floor area not exceeding 150 square metres;
- agricultural construction or the construction necessary for the storage and maintenance of agricultural equipment by agricultural equipment cooperatives whose floor area and footprint do not exceed eight hundred square metres;
- production greenhouses with a right-foot height of less than four metres and a floor area and a right-of-way not exceeding two thousand square metres.
The use of architects is also not compulsory for work subject to a building permit which relates exclusively to the fitting out and equipping of the interior spaces of buildings and commercial windows or which is limited on occasions which do not entail no changes visible from the outside (Article L. 431-3 of the Urban Planning Code).
No specific qualification requirement for an architect to act on a listed historic building monument is required.
It is recommended that the contracting authority verify that the supervisor, selected in accordance with the rules applicable to the owner, has the skills required to carry out similar work and a comparable building.
It may be proposed to the owner or contracting authority, as part of the scientific and technical control of the State departments responsible for historic monuments, carry out diagnostic and project management studies of the same type as those implemented for the restoration of classified buildings. These studies may, like the work, be the subject of financial assistance from the Ministry of Culture.
When the restoration work to be carried out on the classified parts of a building reaches a listed part which is indivisible, the task of controlling the work on the listed parts is entrusted to the specialized architect as defined in articles R. 621-27, R. 621-28, R. 621-29, R. 621-30 and R. 621-31 of the heritage code.
The mastery of works on an organ classified or registered as historical monuments
In accordance with the French Heritage Code, qualified project management is mandatory for modification, repair or restoration on classified or inscribed organs or on unprotected parts of partially protected organs.
Pursuant to Article R. 622-59 of the Heritage Code: The work of repair, lifting and restoration undertaken on the buffets and phonic parts of the classified and inscribed organs as well as on the unprotected parts of the partially protected organs is ensured :
1) Either by a technician-consultant approved by the State under the conditions provided for by decree;
2. Either, on a given transaction, by a French national or a national of another Member State of the European Union or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area established in one of those States, including training and professional experience, full-time or part-time, acquired on recent operations of repair, raising and restoration of organs of heritage character in France or abroad, attest to historical knowledge, technical and administrative requirements necessary for the design and conduct of the work covered by the project management contract. Where neither the activity nor the training leading to that activity is regulated in the State in which they are lawfully established, they must have exercised it in one or more Member States for at least one year during the ten years preceding the benefit. (...) ».
TheArticle R. 622-59 of the Heritage Code specifies the conditions for the declaration of first benefit in the case of a casual exercise in France and the conditions for partial access to the professional activity of the profession of technicians-approved councils for organs protected under historical monuments, a regulated profession within the meaning of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications.
The selection of the supervisor of works on a public-owned organ is made after competition under the public-order code. The principal contractor’s remuneration is on a fee-for-service basis and on a liberal basis, for the preliminary study by fixed price (flat rate, adjustable or revisable).