Vurpas Architectes have transformed the Halle Girard into house Lyon’s French Tech – the new incubator for digital businesses, a space for events and a base for start-ups. Take a look at the complete story after the jump.
Confluence
One of the largest town centre expansion projects in Europe, Confluence covers 150 hectares at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Extending out from the core of the city centre, Confluence doubles its surface area and was designed to allow Lyon to welcome 30,000 new inhabitants and workers and to make it a showcase for the city of the future:
- A smart and sustainable city, exemplary in terms of energy consumption,
- A hub for new forms of mobility and a walkable city,
- Striking architecture,
- A city for all which encourages social diversity.
The Halle Girard
Situated at the extremity of the Confluence district, the Halle Girard contributes to the urban regeneration model, combining industrial heritage and innovative construction in an eco-district rich in architectural and urban innovations. Urban planning, architecture, integrating nature, creativity… is Confluence’s brand identity.
A historic building
A former factory dating from 1857, the Halle Girard is the last vestige of the industrial past of the Confluence district. The main building of spectacular dimensions is typical of the 19th century industrial architecture. It’s flanked either side with the north and south workshops and their shed roofs. Today, the halle is located at a strategic point in the layout of the Confluence commercial zone 2 as designed by Herzog and De Meuron, at the interface between the development of the dense city and the large natural expanse which will join the southern tip of the site.
A light-touch intervention, leaving room for unexpected uses to emerge
The issue was the integration of new, innovative work and support spaces into the historic walls of the former boiler shop, without affecting the intrinsic qualities of the large industrial hall, its unity, its cathedral-like volumes, its slender metal framework, and its soft lighting, and without diluting or distorting its history. For these reasons, the project only does the strict minimum by offering a simple and effective architectural response, adapted to the specificities and potential of this industrial hall, as well as the innovative future uses which may emerge, and the unpredictability of the digital ecosystem.
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A new place to live
The H7 project constitutes the transformation of this industrial heritage to service new ways of working, emblematic of the metamorphosis of the Confluence district towards innovation and creativity. Opening the former factory onto the environment extends the urban life of the dense future city, under the great nave of the hall, and to open the former boiler shop onto the future green space of the Confluence district.
Client: SPL Lyon Confluence
Project management
Lead architect: Vurpas Architectes
Trade works, HVAC, electricty, structure and fire safety systems coordinator: AIA Ingénierie
Acoustics: Génie Acoustique
HEQ: AIA Studio Environnement
Address: 70 quai Perrache, 69002 Lyon
Surface area: 4,083 m² (43,949.05 sq ft)
Construction cost: €7,060,000 excl. VAT
Delivery: January 2019
Photo credits: © Kevin Dolmaire, © Brice Robert
Find more projects by Vurpas Architectes: www.vurpas-architectes.com
