ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS
Dialogue and workshops with Michelin teams truly became a corner stone of the design process behind the transformative headquarter program .
inaugurate its renovated headquarter reception area ,” explains Florent Menegaux , President of the Michelin Group . “ The historic manufacturing headquarters - the very same place in which our small rubber bullet company was founded in 1889 - was in need of a new setting to project Michelin into the future .”
A NEW IDENTITY
In order to respond to Michelin ’ s wish of renewing itself without erasing its past , the project ’ s committed position is to offer an extension of the current headquarters over two levels . The extension is provided with an energetic new façade that seeks to appreciate its historic structure . The new project connects the current buildings , while simultaneously embodying a reception area and the group ’ s main entrance . It also acts as a permeable interface between the company ’ s private spaces and the public square , the latter of which was also renovated in a development plan conducted by the city and Michelin Group . From outline to delivery , the conception of the architectural program , and of the project ’ s design , unfolded within the remit of an architectural consulting period . This method of continuous presence and on-site follow-up allowed for a greater understanding of the group ’ s identity , while introducing a mindful practice that recognized the residents ’ needs and adapted the program accordingly .
A simple and fundamental idea permeated the overall project suggested by Encore Heureux : “ Bringing a potential vision to life for such an emblematic company was a challenge . The headquarters ’ future could only be decided upon in collaboration with the company and within the company itself ,” explains Nicola Delon ,
founding partner of Encore Heureux . “ This idea went hand in hand through an architectural consulting period with a studio set up at the heart of the company . Dialogue and workshops with Michelin teams truly became a corner stone of the design process behind the transformative headquarter program .”
A MULTI-FACETED AND INVENTIVE PROGRAM
The main challenge the project addressed was that of connecting heterogeneous spaces between themselves in a consistent union intended to receive thousands of visitors daily . The tropical glasshouse , initiated by Edouard Michelin on the plaza in the early 2000s , held an uncertain future ; it was preserved in the
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