Making people want to return to the office, feel good and work efficiently is the challenge that most companies have faced after the health crisis. And some succeed better than others… And when the work of the company in question consists mainly of investing in and managing offices, it is necessarily particularly involved. Here’s how when Covivio (formerly Foncière des Régions) chose to establish 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 business card where customers and prospects find everyone the concepts developed by the group. Furthermore, 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 Europa district that Covivio set its sights on a building that previously housed a telephone exchange that the real estate company had purchased as part of the outsourcing of France Télécoms/Orange’s assets. A choice that has a dual interest: “The centrality of the location is more than ever a fundamental 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.” Furthermore, the use of the building has not been completely transformed as Orange retains part of the ground floor, simply miniaturization and current technologies have made it possible to free up an additional 4,530 m² of offices in this building, 1120 m² in common outdoor spaces and 1000 m² of planted outdoor spaces.
Bricks, wood and concrete
Called L’Atelier, this venue barely references Covivio (a discreet logo on the main entrance) preferring to focus on the idea of a place of creation and production. 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 STUDIOS architectural teams who worked on the building envelope and Sarah Lavoine House handled the interior architecture. “We wanted to rediscover the codes of the house, while at the same time creating a place truly similar to a hotel”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 connection was created by exploiting all the potential of a demolished technical room which became a largely glass conference room, decorated with a monumental external staircase that extends to create a joint between the two internal buildings. And if the historic facades have been enlarged, the architects did not hesitate to take advantage of the high ceilings of the top floor, covered in concrete since the 1970s, to replace this heavy covering with a glass veil that gives lightness and very pleasant brightness to the environment. the interior.
53 bike spaces
On the internal side, between space organization and decoration, we find ourselves in places that are reminiscent of a house or a hotel. Here there is no reception room but rather a lobby with a coffee counter and a series of partitions that allow for different uses. Very chic, the luggage/concierge area to leave your things or receive your packages. Without forgetting a wellness area, a room dedicated to team sports and a fitness room. Don’t forget the little queen with parking provided for 53 bicycles (for 250 Covivio employees without forgetting the users of the coworking spaces) and appreciable additions: electrified racks and changing rooms/showers. As for the number 1 request of employees in terms of service in the workplace, it has not been forgotten with a particularly well-kept catering area. We are truly in a restaurant room that can transform into a place for informal exchange outside of meals.
And the work spaces in all this? Even if the atmosphere, the carpet, the antique objects seem more like those of a home than an office, everything has been designed to function efficiently. Meeting spaces are available in all formats, without forgetting conference rooms or project rooms. Special mention for the top-floor boardroom with its huge oval table and glass wall that extends with views across Paris but can be completely darkened at the flick of 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 immersing oneself in a radically different place. The icing on the cake: the terrace on the roof of the building was designed as a hanging garden among greenery, groves of shrubs and visual glimpses of the monuments of Paris.