Couvent Saint-Jacques

The Saint-Jacques Convent, designed by architect Joseph Belmont and completed in 1968-1969, is situated between Rue des Tanneries and Rue de la Glacière in Paris. The complex features a main building parallel to the street that houses a church at half-basement level and sixty rooms for the brothers across five floors. A second, perpendicular structure, connected by a hall, contains accommodations and meeting rooms. The concrete construction exhibits a stripped-down aesthetic influenced by Japanese architecture, devoid of religious symbols on its façades. These are rhythmically defined by the irregular alternation of sandblasted concrete pilasters topped with varied-sized coping stones and wooden-framed windows.