The Grand Charles is the project of the new headquarters of the SOPREMA Group, located at the Port du Rhin in Strasbourg.

THE GREAT CHARLES AT A GLANCE

The new headquarters of the SOPREMA Group is named after Charles Geisen, the great-grandfather of Pierre-Étienne Bindschedler, the Group's current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. It was named this way by SOPREMA employees following an internal competition, in tribute to the historic founder of this company of Alsatian origin.

This new headquarters has been designed as a place of inspiration and dynamism for employees, a tool conducive to the collective achievement of the company's objectives. Designed as a real place to live, this project is an opportunity for the CEO to demonstrate very concretely his desire to invest in the company's most precious capital in his eyes: the employees.

The Grand Charles also aims to be a laboratory of ideas for a high-performance building with a positive impact on its environment. It will reflect SOPREMA's expertise in sustainable construction, and the best solutions will be implemented.

The objective of the project: To make the Grand Charles a reference, both on a human and environmental level. An exemplary sustainable building, synonymous with energy sobriety and a warm place, which combines quality of life and pleasure at work.

AN AMBITIOUS STRUCTURE DEMONSTRATING SOPREMA'S KNOW-HOW

For SOPREMA, the objectives of this large-scale project are multiple. The aim is to build a set of buildings that are exemplary in terms of environmental impact, based on the wide range of eco-responsible solutions developed by the Group. The Grand Charles will therefore be a showcase for this know-how: a high-performance building whose environmental impact will be significantly reduced. The Grand Charles will be equipped with the best current solutions developed by the Group, combining very concrete economic performance and respect for the environment.

The new building will focus on biodiversity through greening, the optimization of water management, the fight against urban heat islands, the functionalization of roofs, the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and the use of the entire range of insulation offered by the Group.

THE GRAND CHARLES: A STIMULATING AND ATTRACTIVE PLACE TO LIVE

More than a traditional workspace, Le Grand Charles aims to be a place of life capable of releasing the energies present within the teams. The objective is to promote well-being at work and to give everyone the freedom to undertake to make a difference in an increasingly competitive market.

People are a key value of the SOPREMA Group, motivating and inspiring teams is an imperative. This is why this new head office intends to be a benchmark in terms of quality of life and pleasure at work. It represents a space that is conducive to the expression of employees' creativity in every way.

The real estate complex, composed of 3 independent buildings, will be set in a park, on the edge of a basin constituting an allegory of the extension of the Rhine. Each building will have its own personality with a warm decoration and a very cozy atmosphere.

The main building facing the Rhine: more than 6000 m² on 6 levels

In the centre of the complex, the building housing the offices of the head office is oriented in such a way that all flows converge towards it. It serves as a setting for the monumental skeleton of the mammoth, an exceptional piece exhibited in its natural state and suspended, as if levitating, above a pool of water. The open-plan layout will offer a lot of comfort and will promote the pooling of skills between the different services and departments. The terraces have been designed as places of relaxation, exchange and activities in the summer for employees.

An 800 m2 company
restaurant

Located at the back of the main building, the restaurant will blend in perfectly with the landscape with its silo architecture, which is omnipresent in the vicinity of the Port du Rhin. It will be able to accommodate at least 300 covers at lunchtime on two levels. It will offer intimacy or conviviality, but above all an awakening of the senses to the employees so that everyone can best appreciate the midday break.

A 500 m2 gym

Featuring shed-inspired architecture, the building is reworked in a more contemporary way and is designed to be flooded with overhead light from its sheds, a succession of sawtooth roofs. This space, open to all employees, will have a machine room of approximately 250 m2, and a room of more than 150 m2 dedicated to group lessons.

RESPONSIBLE AND LOCAL AT THE SAME TIME

Located in the Port du Rhin district, east of Strasbourg, Le Grand Charles will run along the river and will be the last French territory before Germany. This port area is the 2nd largest inland river port in France and represents a powerful economic driver at the regional, national and international levels.

Designed in a spirit of responsibility, the Grand Charles project favours local and short circuits: 80% of the 32 lots on the site are taken care of by companies in the region. The finished products of SOPREMA's solutions will be mainly produced in Strasbourg on the industrial site in the immediate vicinity.

This project aims to promote the dynamics of the Port of the Rhine, in particular by guaranteeing the maintenance and creation of new jobs in the short term. The new head office will be a place of life that receives, welcomes and enriches, a place of plural sharing, where all audiences will be able to rub shoulders and share their knowledge.

THE GREAT CHARLES AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS

The project's stakeholders:

• The architectural project of the Grand Charles was imagined by the Parisian firm, MAISON ÉDOUARD FRANÇOIS, which has the particularity of giving priority to the human being and considering the landscape as an essential component of the project.

• The execution architect is the DENU & PARADON FIRM, located in Strasbourg. For SOPREMA, it was more relevant for a local architect to monitor the progress of the project.

• The project management assistant is: AMO 88, Puteaux.

• The Technical Design Office: ARTELIA, Schiltigheim Agency.

• The decoration of the buildings is carried out by the Parisian agency JOUIN MANKU. Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku form a singular, multicultural and ambitious tandem, mixing design and architecture. They have the art of reinventing themselves with each project by working on a global concept.

• The lighting design is carried out by L'AGENCE 8'18'', located in Paris.

• The landscape architect is the Quebec company LADOUCEUR which completed the work of the BASE agency, a leader in landscape architecture, landscaping and the design of exterior rooms.

• Water will be staged by the world reference AQUATIQUE SHOW. With 35 years of experience and based in Strasbourg, she excels in the creation of aquatic shows and water effects

For more information on Le Grand Charles, see the press kit.

Photo credits: Maison Edouard François, Design Architect | Denu and Paradon, Execution Architect.