Axima Sécurité Incendie winner of the WO2 call for tenders to protect the "Breizh" wooden structure building

As part of this major contract, the Equans entity will ensure the protection of 33.000 m2 of building in wood and concrete structure, from the study phase of the project to its delivery in 2024.

The awarding of this contract to Axima Sécurité Incendie follows an unprecedented approach, commensurate with the challenges generated by the type of material used: the performance of real laboratory tests, with sprinklers and water mist, to determine the protection best suited to the needs and constraints of WO2.

Removing the constraints to the development of a virtuous sector

Located a few steps from the Stade de France and in the immediate vicinity of the RER B, the "Breizh" project will consist of 22.000 m2 of offices, intended to accommodate GRDF teams, and 11.000 m2 of activity hotel, managed by the property management of the City of Paris (RIVP).

A former industrial wasteland converted into a mixed building mostly made of wood, the “Breizh” building is emblematic of a new generation of low-carbon buildings.

With 7.100 m3 of solid wood used for the project, showcased in the office floors, the “Breizh” building will also offer its users an underground car park with 152 spaces. Like all buildings made of biosourced and combustible materials, the “Breizh” operation poses unprecedented challenges in terms of fire protection.

Taking these into account gave rise to a directive published by the Paris police headquarters, in conjunction with the capital's fire brigade (BSPP), in the summer of 2021: the "Doctrine for the construction of buildings in biosourced and combustible materials".

To meet its high standards, WO2 launched a call for tenders in February 2022. Within a consortium led by the GCC group, the company Axima Sécurité Incendie was selected to provide fire protection for all of the buildings, both for the wooden parts and for the infrastructure car park.

Started in November 2022, the acceptance of the site is scheduled for April 2024. The teams of Equans France launched the deployment of fire safety devices there at the start of the year.

Solutions tested and approved so as not to fire any wood!

A first in France, the call for tenders for the “Breizh” operation was an opportunity for the Effectis laboratory, commissioned by WO2, to test the effectiveness of two fire safety technologies on wooden structures in real conditions: sprinklers and water mist.

Concretely, a life-size reproduction of part of the wooden structure, 30 meters long by 15 meters wide, was assembled in the laboratory during the month of August 2022.

During the tests, 4 in number, hearths were positioned at different places within the structure, and the fire was given free rein to spread.

The objective was simple: to check the triggering of the protection system and its ability to contain the fire within the time allowed.

The only candidate to offer both water mist protection and traditional sprinkler protection, Axima Sécurité Incendie's solutions made it possible to contain and even extinguish the fire during each test, all in less than 20 minutes.

To take into account the ceiling height of the future building, side wall nozzles with a significant range made it possible to extinguish the fire quickly, even when there was a gap of 5 meters between the nozzle of the fire protection system and the start of the fire. At the end of the laboratory test campaign, carried out in August 2022, the sprinkler systems from Axima Sécurité Incendie were finally chosen to ensure both the protection of the car park of the future building and both its office and hotel parts.

In total, more than 5.233 sprinklers will be deployed by Equans teams over the next few months.

“Succeeding in the challenge of securing the Breizh building is not only reassuring our investors and direct customers, it is positioning the CLT solid wood construction as a responsible and sustainable alternative to traditional practices in the real estate sector. It is to introduce new possibilities in the world of real estate”, assures Sébastien REGEREAU, Works Director at WO2.

“Equans' raison d'être is to put its multi-technical know-how at the service of the environmental and energy transition. The Breizh operation symbolizes this transition in a particular way and it is a source of pride for our teams to reconcile safety and performance in the service of the deployment of new virtuous sectors in real estate. This is a fine example of our ability to protect, prevent and support our customers in terms of fire safety.”, concludes Laurent MEYKUCHEL, Managing Director of Axima Sécurité Incendie, an entity of Equans France.