Making people want to come back to the office, feel good there and work efficiently is the challenge that most companies have faced since the health crisis. And some succeed better than others… And when the work of the company in question consists in particular of investing in and operating offices, it is necessarily particularly involved. This is how when Covivio (formerly Foncière des Régions) chose to set up its European headquarters in a new Parisian address, not far from Saint-Lazare station, it was essential to take care of the well-being of employees but also to make it a card of visit where customers and prospects find all the concepts developed by the group. Moreover, to make the place even more open, the group took the opportunity to install a Wellio center on site, its brand coworking.
It is in the Europe district that Covivio set its sights on a building which previously housed a telephone exchange that the property company had purchased as part of the outsourcing of the France Télécoms/Orange assets. A choice which has a double interest: “The centrality of location is more than ever a key element for offices, recalls Christophe Kullmann, general director of Covivio. And giving new life to this site also demonstrates our commitment to a policy of rebuilding the city within the city.” Moreover, the purpose of the building has not been entirely transformed since Orange retains premises on part of the ground floor, simply miniaturization and current technologies have made it possible to free up an additional 4,530 m² in this building. of offices, 1120 m² of shared spaces and 1000 m² of planted outdoor spaces.
Brick, wood and concrete
Called L’Atelier, this headquarters barely refers to Covivio (a discreet logo on the main entrance) preferring to focus on the idea of a place of creation and manufacturing. At the end of a joint reflection by the teams, the entire approach to the building was structured around the concept of “builders”, highlighting three materials: brick, wood and concrete. It was the teams of architects from STUDIOS who worked on the envelope of the building and the Sarah Lavoine house which managed the interior architecture. “We wanted to rediscover the codes of the house, while creating a truly hotel-like place”explains Christophe Kullmann.
Particular attention was paid to connecting the two red brick buildings (the main one overlooking Rue de Madrid, the second overlooking Rue d’Edimbourg) which until then had their backs to each other. A junction was made by drawing on all the potential of a technical room which had been demolished and which became a largely glazed conference room, decorated with a monumental exterior staircase which extends to create a seam between the two inside. buildings. And if the historic facades have been magnified, the architects did not hesitate to take advantage of the high ceilings of the top floor, topped with concrete since the 1970s, to replace this heavy cladding with a glazed veil bringing lightness and very pleasant brightness to the room. the interior.
53 bicycle spaces
On the interior side, between organization of spaces and decoration, we are in places reminiscent of a house or a hotel. Here, there is no reception hall but rather a lobby with its coffee counter and sets of partitions allowing for varied uses. Very chic, the luggage/concierge area to leave your belongings or receive your packages. Without forgetting a wellness area, a room dedicated to team sports and a fitness center. The little queen is not forgotten with parking provided for 53 bicycles (for 250 Covivio employees without forgetting the users of coworking spaces) and appreciable additions: electrified racks and changing rooms/showers. As for the number 1 request from employees in terms of service in their workplace, it has not been forgotten with a particularly well-kept catering area. We are really in a restaurant room that can be transformed into a place of informal exchange outside of meals.
And the workspaces in all this? Even if the atmosphere, the carpet, the antique objects feel more like a house than an office, everything has been designed to work efficiently. Meeting spaces are available in all formats without forgetting conference rooms or project rooms. Special mention for the council room on the top floor with its huge oval table and its glass partition extending with views over all of Paris but which can be completely obscured by flipping a switch. Wow effect also with the semi-buried room entirely in orange-brown tones, a space dedicated to projections and the development of projects by immersing yourself in a radically different place. The icing on the cake: the building’s roof terrace was designed as a hanging garden between greenery, groves of shrubs and visual views of the monuments of Paris.