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FeedsHome: Issue 4 2008 › Lead Story › PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE
PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE
19/08/2008 | Channel: Location
Libbie Hammond takes a look at some exciting developments in France
Real term growth in the French construction market is anticipated to be one of the highest in the Western Europe (albeit only slightly stronger than many other markets) until 2009. This is good news for construction companies that operate on a European scale, and many recent projects have been completed that illustrate the diversity of the French market. Many exciting new buildings are being constructed across the country - with Paris especially seeing some very interesting development.
LA DÉFENSE
La Défense is the prime high-rise office district of Paris, with many of Paris's tallest buildings located here. Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, Bouygues Construction's subsidiary operating in the Paris region, has recently signed a renovation contract worth more than 300 million euros with Axa, Beacon Capital and Cogedim for the renovation of the CB31 Tower in La Défense. This is part of a major programme to modernise La Défense in order to ensure that the business district continues to appeal to users and investors. It is a world first in terms of scale and technical complexity.
The building, which comprises three wings and stands 155 metres tall with 40 storeys above ground, will be raised ten storeys to reach a total height of 218 metres - this will make it the tallest building in La Défense. The works also include ten storey 'levelling' of upper floors. The office floor space will be increased by nearly ten per cent to 87,000 square metres. The entire structure will be reinforced and the building envelope will be totally rebuilt with close to 50,000 square metres of slope glazing and curtain walling, including 30,000 square metres of naturally ventilated double-skin façade.
Plans for another exciting tower in La Défense was recently unveiled by Hermitage, a subsidiary of the Stroïmontage Group. This scheme would provide a 24-hour destination for Paris and, at 309 metres; the structure would be the tallest mixeduse building in Western Europe. At a press conference held in the Majestic Hotel in Cannes, Hermitage presented its plans for a 250,000 sq m development proposed for its entry into the architect contest launched by EPAD, the authority managing La Défense. Hermitage's milestone concept is one of several entries in the contest.
Hermitage Towers would comprise two buildings of differing heights, with Tower A standing at 309 metres and Tower B at 264 metres. These would be linked by a nine-floor structure situated 75 metres above the ground.
In each tower, the bottom three floors would comprise retail space, with ten floors of office accommodation above. Floors 14 to 26 will house a luxury 300-room hotel, followed above by private residential accommodation. The top four floors of Tower B would house reception rooms and spa and fitness areas with Tower A boasting bars and reception rooms and a gourmet restaurant with panoramic views, overlooking the Seine River.
“With this development we are proposing a new way of living in Paris,” says Emin Iskenderov, president and managing director of Hermitage. “This project represents a unique opportunity to develop, for the first time in France, a high rise, multipurpose building, mainly intended for accommodation.”
The proposed scheme would also offer major public facilities, located in a vast glass base: a 1300 seat concert hall, a skating rink and a contemporary art centre.
The design for the building's ground floor provides an attraction in itself. It is a cascading, mainly glass structure, extending between the entrance halls of the two towers leading to a monumental hotel lobby. This space is designed to resemble a controlled climate greenhouse in which luxury boutiques and eating-places would be scattered around a large atrium with three levels of footbridges offering views over Paris.
Jacques Ferrier, the architect for Hermitage Towers, says: “The challenge of this project is to conjugate multiple purposes, luxurious panoramic spaces and excellent environmental performance.”
TRANSFORMATIONS
Built in 1903, L'Imprimerie Nationale is an historic building that was until recently the home of the national printing press. It is part of the background and the social history of Paris, and therefore when the time came to refurbish and re-modernise the space into high-level office accommodation, preserving its historical style was of utmost importance to the investors Carlyle Europe Real Estate Advisors and the project developer Artequation.
The architect Andrew Hobson (working for Arte Charpentier) designed a winter garden that has been created inside the 'iron hall', while 11,300 m2 of glass has been utilised in the design. The Imprimerie Nationale has been transformed from a 19th century factory into a high level office building, including all the latest digital technologies and a large underground car park, in the heart of Paris. The property was due to be delivered to its new owners (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) at the beginning of April.
Another recent project has utilised copper in its architecture to dramatic effect. The Louis Pasteur Hospital in Dôle has used copper as unusual cladding for its MRI Building. Copper trays with upright gaskets of varying sizes were chosen to dress the façades of the Dôle IRM in an original design, with the entrance door to the medical facility also copper clad. In total an area of 900 m2 of TECU-Classic
copper was used on the building, which was designed by architects Reichardt et Ferreux (Lons-le-Saunier) and constructed by Nouveau SA (Salins-les-Bains).
On a smaller scale, but with no less impressive results, Armstrong World Industries, a leading supplier of suspended ceiling systems, has renovated a university cafeteria with Infusion Panels and Ultima Canopies.
The Institut Français de Mécanique Avancée (School for engineers) in Aubière near Clermont-Ferrand, France, needed a ceiling solution that would not only create a fresh modern design in its US diner themed canteen but would also solve its acoustical problems. SA2 Architects brought Armstrong in to create the space.
With minimal acoustical treatments already in place, the canteen, with a 350m high ceiling and rough concrete finish, suffered excess reverberance and noise build up, causing fatigue and stress to staff and students. Voices and impact noises from tableware were most disturbing to the canteen users as they did not allow for proper intelligibility conditions and comfortable conversation levels.
Armstrong used Infusions Panels and the Ultima Canopy range to provide a fast, clean and easy way to improve the acoustics and aesthetics of the space. Twelve Ultima Canopies (totalling 120m2) were installed over the most noise critical area, approximately 30 per cent of the ceiling area, ensuring extra sound absorption. As the cafeteria is also regarded as a key social hub, S2A and Armstrong needed to increase its attractiveness. Twelve infusions panels were used in the design to add colour over a 60m2 adjacent space.
For further information visit:
www.bouygues-construction.com
www.artequation.com
www.armstrong.com
More news
Omnimat Midi-Pyrenees (Groupe Sofilec) of France, a distributor of second-hand machinery, recently launched the Occasud.com website, which sells second-hand equipment for use in the farming, grounds maintenance, and construction sectors. The Occasud website is efficient and user-friendly, with regularly catalogues updated lists of second-hand stock, which customers are informed about each week via email. It offers clearance sales on depreciated parts and equipment and carries a large, constantly renewed inventory of second-hand equipment from all brands, all in good working condition. Using the site, users deal directly with a single contact enjoying perfect knowledge of all the equipment on offer, rather than having to compare various sellers.
Occasud.com supplies original spare parts from a wide range of manufacturers, including JCB, Wacker, Putzmeister and John Deere. Users are also able to search for brands or pieces of equipment that are not available in stock - from agricultural tractors to 45-tonne excavators, backhoe loaders, or even loaders and combine harvesters.
Mantion of France, a manufacturer of sliding doors and gate systems for buildings, has just added a new product to its Garline fittings range - a ready-to-install sectional garage door kit for doors intended to be motorised.
Mantion's sectional door kit is very easy to install and requires few parts. It can even be fitted on blockwork walls. The extensionspring balance is pre-assembled and pre-set in the horizontal runner, meaning that a significant amount of installation time is saved. It is equipped with 40-milimetre thick Bremett panels, which provide excellent thermal insulation. A motorisable version is also available, which is compatible with most motorisation systems on the market (including Came, Marantec, Nice and Sommer).
The new Mantion kit complies with European Union security standards, and is fitted with operational safety-catch devices on either side in case of cable or spring breakage. Safety is, therefore, guaranteed due to this fall-prevention system. In addition, the kit comes with a patented anti-finger-trap system.
Mantion fittings for sectional doors have passed the most stringent laboratory tests, notably regarding wind resistance (over 200 km/hour) and endurance, with more than 20,000 recorded cycles without any breakdown. The Mantion kit, which is installed with market-authorised motors, complies with the European Union Construction Products Directive.
For further information, please go to: www.occasud.com and www.mantion.com
LA DÉFENSE
La Défense is the prime high-rise office district of Paris, with many of Paris's tallest buildings located here. Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, Bouygues Construction's subsidiary operating in the Paris region, has recently signed a renovation contract worth more than 300 million euros with Axa, Beacon Capital and Cogedim for the renovation of the CB31 Tower in La Défense. This is part of a major programme to modernise La Défense in order to ensure that the business district continues to appeal to users and investors. It is a world first in terms of scale and technical complexity.
The building, which comprises three wings and stands 155 metres tall with 40 storeys above ground, will be raised ten storeys to reach a total height of 218 metres - this will make it the tallest building in La Défense. The works also include ten storey 'levelling' of upper floors. The office floor space will be increased by nearly ten per cent to 87,000 square metres. The entire structure will be reinforced and the building envelope will be totally rebuilt with close to 50,000 square metres of slope glazing and curtain walling, including 30,000 square metres of naturally ventilated double-skin façade.
Plans for another exciting tower in La Défense was recently unveiled by Hermitage, a subsidiary of the Stroïmontage Group. This scheme would provide a 24-hour destination for Paris and, at 309 metres; the structure would be the tallest mixeduse building in Western Europe. At a press conference held in the Majestic Hotel in Cannes, Hermitage presented its plans for a 250,000 sq m development proposed for its entry into the architect contest launched by EPAD, the authority managing La Défense. Hermitage's milestone concept is one of several entries in the contest.
Hermitage Towers would comprise two buildings of differing heights, with Tower A standing at 309 metres and Tower B at 264 metres. These would be linked by a nine-floor structure situated 75 metres above the ground.
In each tower, the bottom three floors would comprise retail space, with ten floors of office accommodation above. Floors 14 to 26 will house a luxury 300-room hotel, followed above by private residential accommodation. The top four floors of Tower B would house reception rooms and spa and fitness areas with Tower A boasting bars and reception rooms and a gourmet restaurant with panoramic views, overlooking the Seine River.
“With this development we are proposing a new way of living in Paris,” says Emin Iskenderov, president and managing director of Hermitage. “This project represents a unique opportunity to develop, for the first time in France, a high rise, multipurpose building, mainly intended for accommodation.”
The proposed scheme would also offer major public facilities, located in a vast glass base: a 1300 seat concert hall, a skating rink and a contemporary art centre.
The design for the building's ground floor provides an attraction in itself. It is a cascading, mainly glass structure, extending between the entrance halls of the two towers leading to a monumental hotel lobby. This space is designed to resemble a controlled climate greenhouse in which luxury boutiques and eating-places would be scattered around a large atrium with three levels of footbridges offering views over Paris.
Jacques Ferrier, the architect for Hermitage Towers, says: “The challenge of this project is to conjugate multiple purposes, luxurious panoramic spaces and excellent environmental performance.”
TRANSFORMATIONS
Built in 1903, L'Imprimerie Nationale is an historic building that was until recently the home of the national printing press. It is part of the background and the social history of Paris, and therefore when the time came to refurbish and re-modernise the space into high-level office accommodation, preserving its historical style was of utmost importance to the investors Carlyle Europe Real Estate Advisors and the project developer Artequation.
The architect Andrew Hobson (working for Arte Charpentier) designed a winter garden that has been created inside the 'iron hall', while 11,300 m2 of glass has been utilised in the design. The Imprimerie Nationale has been transformed from a 19th century factory into a high level office building, including all the latest digital technologies and a large underground car park, in the heart of Paris. The property was due to be delivered to its new owners (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) at the beginning of April.
Another recent project has utilised copper in its architecture to dramatic effect. The Louis Pasteur Hospital in Dôle has used copper as unusual cladding for its MRI Building. Copper trays with upright gaskets of varying sizes were chosen to dress the façades of the Dôle IRM in an original design, with the entrance door to the medical facility also copper clad. In total an area of 900 m2 of TECU-Classic
copper was used on the building, which was designed by architects Reichardt et Ferreux (Lons-le-Saunier) and constructed by Nouveau SA (Salins-les-Bains).
On a smaller scale, but with no less impressive results, Armstrong World Industries, a leading supplier of suspended ceiling systems, has renovated a university cafeteria with Infusion Panels and Ultima Canopies.
The Institut Français de Mécanique Avancée (School for engineers) in Aubière near Clermont-Ferrand, France, needed a ceiling solution that would not only create a fresh modern design in its US diner themed canteen but would also solve its acoustical problems. SA2 Architects brought Armstrong in to create the space.
With minimal acoustical treatments already in place, the canteen, with a 350m high ceiling and rough concrete finish, suffered excess reverberance and noise build up, causing fatigue and stress to staff and students. Voices and impact noises from tableware were most disturbing to the canteen users as they did not allow for proper intelligibility conditions and comfortable conversation levels.
Armstrong used Infusions Panels and the Ultima Canopy range to provide a fast, clean and easy way to improve the acoustics and aesthetics of the space. Twelve Ultima Canopies (totalling 120m2) were installed over the most noise critical area, approximately 30 per cent of the ceiling area, ensuring extra sound absorption. As the cafeteria is also regarded as a key social hub, S2A and Armstrong needed to increase its attractiveness. Twelve infusions panels were used in the design to add colour over a 60m2 adjacent space.
For further information visit:
www.bouygues-construction.com
www.artequation.com
www.armstrong.com
More news
Omnimat Midi-Pyrenees (Groupe Sofilec) of France, a distributor of second-hand machinery, recently launched the Occasud.com website, which sells second-hand equipment for use in the farming, grounds maintenance, and construction sectors. The Occasud website is efficient and user-friendly, with regularly catalogues updated lists of second-hand stock, which customers are informed about each week via email. It offers clearance sales on depreciated parts and equipment and carries a large, constantly renewed inventory of second-hand equipment from all brands, all in good working condition. Using the site, users deal directly with a single contact enjoying perfect knowledge of all the equipment on offer, rather than having to compare various sellers.
Occasud.com supplies original spare parts from a wide range of manufacturers, including JCB, Wacker, Putzmeister and John Deere. Users are also able to search for brands or pieces of equipment that are not available in stock - from agricultural tractors to 45-tonne excavators, backhoe loaders, or even loaders and combine harvesters.
Mantion of France, a manufacturer of sliding doors and gate systems for buildings, has just added a new product to its Garline fittings range - a ready-to-install sectional garage door kit for doors intended to be motorised.
Mantion's sectional door kit is very easy to install and requires few parts. It can even be fitted on blockwork walls. The extensionspring balance is pre-assembled and pre-set in the horizontal runner, meaning that a significant amount of installation time is saved. It is equipped with 40-milimetre thick Bremett panels, which provide excellent thermal insulation. A motorisable version is also available, which is compatible with most motorisation systems on the market (including Came, Marantec, Nice and Sommer).
The new Mantion kit complies with European Union security standards, and is fitted with operational safety-catch devices on either side in case of cable or spring breakage. Safety is, therefore, guaranteed due to this fall-prevention system. In addition, the kit comes with a patented anti-finger-trap system.
Mantion fittings for sectional doors have passed the most stringent laboratory tests, notably regarding wind resistance (over 200 km/hour) and endurance, with more than 20,000 recorded cycles without any breakdown. The Mantion kit, which is installed with market-authorised motors, complies with the European Union Construction Products Directive.
For further information, please go to: www.occasud.com and www.mantion.com
