Construction of a new mess for the Air Force in Orange (84)

It was on November 23, 2020 that the teams of the consortium led by Spie batignolles sud-est were notified of the Works service order after more than a year of project development from the APS stadium to the PRO file.

Unifying equipment

The Orange-Caritat 115 airbase mess aims to bring together all the staff on the same site for a friendly daily meeting. It contributes to improving the overall layout of the base.

The building, built on one level, with a floor area of ​​3400 m², is made up of several spaces:

• a self-service line
• a large common dining room for military and civilian personnel, with a capacity of 560 users
• a second dining room for the captain and his VIPs ("Management Club")
• a large kitchen
• a coffee / leisure area
• administrative offices
• sanitary
• changing rooms

These rooms are divided into two spaces which are distinguished by differences in entrances, ceiling height and materials used in their construction. For example, the collective catering area is raised and has a ceiling height of more than 3m. The car park will offer 50 spaces, including an area reserved for VIPs, and a delivery area with easy and direct access to the kitchen for mess staff.

Environmental, organizational and technical issues

An autonomous water site

The specifications of ESID Lyon - Pôle Conduite d'Opérations de Montpellier - put into perspective a significant environmental issue on which Atelier 5 Architects and Spie batignolles sud-est worked a lot in the design phase. On the one hand, the 115 Orange-Caritat air base was fitted out in a particularly neat landscaped setting, which the new developments should not spoil. In its architectural design, Atelier 5 Architectes proposed to sublimate the surrounding nature by choosing uniform materials, in line with the exteriors and by integrating new landscaping around the new mess.

On the other hand, the site is completely autonomous in drinking water thanks to the installation of a catchment towards the water table under the ground. This water also supplies the surrounding towns. As this catchment is located near the future athletics track, the members of the group had to anticipate a certain number of processes to bypass this equipment, whether it concerns the movement of trucks, the realization of earthworks and gear parking.

Energy efficient equipment

In the offer submitted by Spie batignolles and its partners, estimates of the building's future energy consumption, with regard to the equipment selected, have been detailed. This is a thermal simulation which allows to anticipate consumption linked to the functioning of the various activities of the mess (kitchen,…) and by interior comfort (temperature, ventilation,…).

To ensure the future energy performance of the building, a heat recovery device on equipment producing cold will be installed. It will supply the hot water batteries of rooftops running on CO2, a so-called natural fluid with no impact on global warming, for heating and the supply of fresh air. At the same time, double-flow air handling units with energy recovery will ensure the introduction of fresh air and the extraction of stale air in the offices, kitchens, storage spaces and the catering room of the authorities. To guarantee optimized consumption, presence sensors will cut off the operation of the air handling units when the rooms are unoccupied.

A heat pump will ensure summer comfort, by limiting energy consumption thanks to its operation based on renewable energy.

The installations will be hidden behind an acroterion, always with a view to offering discreet architecture in the heart of this site where nature is very present.

Meticulous logistics

Given the plurality of networks and kitchen equipment to be provided, Spie batignolles sud-est has chosen to collaborate from the design phase with the kitchen designer AC2R to think about a relevant management of all the flows and processes of kitchen / self service and restaurant.

Air Force base 115 will continue to operate for the duration of the work. As a result, the Spie batignolles sud-est teams have thought about a meticulous organization to reduce as much as possible the nuisances related to the activity of the site, relating in particular to a precise management of the flow of trucks, to the reduction of the noise level of certain tasks during office hours, due to the proximity of the work area to the premises of the military and the Base Commander.

Work schedule

Over the next two months, the group's teams will work on deviating networks and carrying out general earthworks for the mess built on an accessible crawl space. The poor bearing capacity of the ground requires a reinforcement of the ground by stone columns which will be operated by a subcontractor of Spie batignolles sud-est.

The structural work phase will begin at the end of January / beginning of February 2021. All the work of the mess will be spread over 16 months for a delivery scheduled for the 1st quarter of 2022. The schedule has been optimized thanks to Lean Management, an organization system already applied by the Spie batignolles works teams on previous projects including during the project development phase.

The air base soldiers will be able to set off on the new athletics track from the third quarter of 3.

The performance contract was concluded for a period of 3 years. It is the Axima company which will be in charge of the technical maintenance of the mess from the reception of the works.

Spie batignolles sud-est was also mandated by the Air Force for the operations of plumbing, asbestos removal and demolition of the original mess, down to its foundations, which has become dilapidated and consumes a lot of energy. This work will take place between October 2021 and March 2022.