Inovalis and Pitch Promotion announce the delivery of “Convergence”, Danone's largest headquarters in the world

After more than two years of work, Inovalis and Pitch Promotion, a brand of the Altarea group, are proud to announce the delivery of this emblematic building for Danone's largest headquarters in the world, in Rueil Malmaison. With a total surface area of 25.347 m², these flexible workspaces adapted to new ways of working will eventually bring together more than 1.600 Danone employees, who will move into the premises from November 24, 2020.

After a first stone laid in December 2018, the building is delivered on October 19, 2020. Convergence has 25.090 m² of offices spread over 7 floors and 257 m² of retail space. Built by Eiffage Construction, the real estate complex has been the subject of the signature of a BEFA (lease in future state of completion) by Danone for a firm period of 12 years.

At 17 rue des Deux Gares in Rueil-Malmaison, Convergence occupies a strategic location, just a few meters from the RER A station, at the entrance to the Rueil-sur-Seine tertiary district, and close to the city center with its shops.

An ambitious architecture for Danone's new flagship

Several challenges had been launched at Inovalis and Pitch Promotion in the specifications. The very concept of the building was crucial in order to be able to respond to Danone's mission, which advocates a vision: “One Planet One Health”. This ambition had to be reflected in the exterior architecture and in the fittings. Its designer, the ORY.architecture studio, bet on an organic and open architecture, aiming for a coherent integration in the heart of a rapidly changing district.

Seen from the street, the facade offers undulations, evocative of living organisms. They are interrupted by a visual breakthrough, across the building. The base of the building is marked by V-shaped posts which form a sort of lace. They give a strong identity to the ground floor. The latter being exclusively devoted to reception, trade and catering functions.

Its openness to the city, close to the RER station, was clearly desired. This is why its integration into green spaces has been carefully thought out. The square and the gardens of Allée Armand Camus which border the building have both been generously planted, not only with employees in mind, but also with residents.

Inside, the same soft and fluid shapes combine with the play of natural light, the quality of the materials and the omnipresence of wood to evoke nature and health. Organized around the landscaped square, the seven office levels are linked to two access halls bathed in natural light. All Convergence spaces thus respond to new uses of collaborative work. They are perfectly suited to the flexibility and scalability demanded by users.

Designed to be pleasant for its users to live in, the interior design of Convergence is totally oriented towards well-being, quality of reception and comfort of life. Entrusted to Studio Jean-Philippe Nuel, its interior architecture and fittings embody the values of its tenant: optimism, generosity and well-being ...

Physical and cultural convergence of Danone teams

The architectural quality and the services provided by Convergence fully met the expectations of a leading player, Danone. Thus, nearly 1.600 people will very soon converge on this new location, which will become Danone's largest headquarters in the world.

The divisions of “dairy and plant products”, “natural mineral waters” and “medical nutrition” will be brought together, as well as cross-functional functions: human resources, finance, the general secretariat, IT services and some international teams.

Danone has dedicated the 7th and last floor of the building, with the largest terraces in the building, to spaces that are particularly innovative in their layout: the factory, the village square, the auditorium, the Planet room ... This physical and cultural "convergence" on a single site aims to promote exchanges between teams and generate new synergies.

“This achievement perfectly illustrates our commitment to invest in new quality real estate, in line with the objectives of the most demanding users. The whole meets the specifications of our investment criteria in terms of profile, location and marketing ”declares Khalil Hankach, Deputy Managing Director of Inovalis SA.

“The delivery of Convergence marks an important step in this ambitious project, which we carried out with our partner Inovalis for one of the largest French companies. Convergence demonstrates our ability to create attractive packages for leading users and perfectly translates our convictions on the future of the office. Integrated into its environment and the surrounding urban fabric, this set will offer employees unique working conditions responding to new uses, ”adds Eugénie de Silguy, Corporate Real Estate Director of Pitch Promotion.

"Convergence fully embodies this new generation of headquarters that Danone wishes to offer its employees, a quality working environment, spaces promoting better collaboration, in a spirit of conviviality and this, in the service of sustainable growth for the company. . We are impatient to see our teams move there ”, specifies Philippe Amiotte, Director of Real Estate at Danone.

Art to brighten up everyday life

As part of this operation, Inovalis and Pitch Promotion have entrusted artist Sake STC, a leading figure in the graffiti scene, with the creation of a masterful sculpture which will be installed in the center of the square in December. This work "Atlas", 3 meters high, was made of resin, fiberglass and stainless steel. Very colorful, it continues the artist's approach entitled “Statue Art Crimes” combining classic sculptures like Poseidon or Apollo with the illegal art of his adolescence, street art. An artistic collaboration has also been established with two graffiti artists from Rueil. In the company of a third author, they were entrusted with the decoration of the underground car parks.

A successful integration into the local fabric

Convergence greatly contributes to the metamorphosis of a major district of Rueil-Malmaison. The site, carried out at a sustained pace, in an already dense urban fabric, has resulted in a latest generation building of more than 25.000 m². The work required transporting 350 tonnes of recycled iron and metals, 20.000 tonnes of recycled concrete, 18 tonnes of wood and green waste.

As a reward for these efforts, the district near the RER station has a new urban identity. In thanking the city council, Khalil Hankach did not fail to point out that now, "a new page of history is opening in this district".