Located in the place du Châtelet, on the Seine’s banks, in the heart of Paris, the Chambre des Notaires de Paris (Chamber of French Notaires of Paris) is the historic institution that gave birth to the profession. After moving around the square a few times, it finally settled in its current home, the Hôtel du Châtelet. It was built by the architects Jules A. Pellechet and Charles Rohault de Fleury between 1855 and 1857, when it was decided to widen the place du Châtelet and open up the Boulevard du Centre (later the boulevard Sébastopol) as part of the major works of Baron Haussmann.

Although it is not classified as a “historic monument” by the Ministry of Culture, the building has many remarkable features. It is actually singled out in the city of Paris’ Plan Local d’Urbanisme (local urban masterplan) as “a plot noted for its historical, cultural or landscape interest”, in particular because of the undeniable quality of its overall architectural composition.

However, the Chambre des Notaires’ building no longer appears to be well suited to the notaires’ practice, considering the modernization of the profession. Through this competition, the Chambre des Notaires’ members wish to renovate the building, by rethinking its internal organization and all the activities it hosts, and to return the building to the heart of contemporary dynamics.