Located in Jonage, in the eastern suburbs of Lyon, this innovative and harmonious campus houses a professional training centre for environment, energy, transport, waste and water sectors. It is designed to reflect the Veolia group’s level of excellence in the field of environmental issues, and is arranged around a garden designed as an Agora. The campus is open, and south-facing to protect from northern winds, and displays optimum use of natural elements.

« For this Veolia Campus, our vision was naturally a meeting place; full of life. This was rendered possible through the use of the Agora, connecting the buildings and enhancing the convivial atmosphere.» 
Jérôme LE GALL Architect and Associate Director – Arte Charpentier Architectes

…arranged around an Agora

The Agora is located in the centre of the campus, connected to the reception and recreation areas: the common room, a 150-seat auditorium and a training centre consisting of workshops, classrooms and offices. A two-storey building, set further back, is for trainee and staff accommodation. It has 55 rooms and a sports hall. Car parking is located well away from the training buildings.

The building is certified under French norms for Service Industry buildings- (HQE, BBC level), satisfying criteria for energy consumption below 60 kWhEP / m² year. The façades are covered in larch wood siding with sunshades. A Zinc skin with lens insertions and large glass facades create light, bright, and pleasant spaces.

Particular attention has been paid to the roof covering, so as to ensure good architectural and environmental coherence, combining green roofs and solar panels. This ambitious project enables Veolia Environnement to illustrate the demanding nature of its environmental concerns, by constructing and operating a «sustainable» campus.

Arte Charpentier Architectes

Arte Charpentier Architectes ranks among the top 100 architectural firms in the World Architecture classification. Founded in 1969, they has acquired an international reputation for the quality of their values and sustainable achievements. Creativity and rigour, teamwork and professionalism, have guided their development, and continue to form the basis of their work. Arte Charpentier Architectes designs, builds and refurbishes offices, shopping centres, cultural facilities, public buildings, housing, hotels and leisure centres. 

Among its big projects this year : the House of Innovation in Dijon, the Shanxi Opera House in China, and the Head Office of the Gendarmerie Nationale in Issy-les-Moulineaux. In recent years, they have designed the Oxygene tower in Lyon, the refurbishment of the Lopez tower in Paris, the Praetorium in La Défense, the Elithis tower in Dijon, (the very first French positive-energy office building project) and the Dassault Systèmes campus in Velizy.

Amongst the most noteworthy recent projects : the Shanghai Opera House, the Meteor metro station of Saint-Lazare Station in Paris. Major ongoing projects : the Research & Development Centre of LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics in Saint Jean de Braye, the shopping and leisure centre «Les Saisons de Meaux», the architectural and landscape project for a water purification plant in Orléans, large scale urban planning projects such as Victor Hugo eco-district in Bagneux (20 hectares) in Paris area, and the master plan of the Bay of Algiers (5,700 hectares).

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copyright © Géraldine Bruneel
– photoarchitecture.com 
Design-build project conducted with Pitance