Reynaers Aluminum France participates in the construction of the new regional headquarters of Nexity in Lyon

The regional headquarters of NEXITY, designed by the architectural firm BRENAC and GONZALEZ et Associés, is part of the development program for the ZAC de l'industrie located in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon.

The building took place on the old plot which housed various industries, in particular that of the famous brand “Rivoire et Carré“.

The main principles expressed the desire to find porosities between the green hill of Balme located to the West, and the Saône on the East side which border the site. Given the slope of 2,50m between the top and the bottom as well as the triangular shape and "head of the bow" of the plot, the project is built around three "comb" buildings, some in alignment with the street, others perpendicular to the Saône.

The singularity of the project takes on its full force with regard to the three buildings connected to each other developing two interior gardens and the building located at the tip of the plot sporting an aesthetic similar to the bow of a boat.

Create outdoor relaxation and work spaces

The programmatic request consisted in creating a homogeneous and coherent project while maintaining great autonomy between the 2 halls serving the office spaces.

The architectural project reveals two buildings attached to each other, like the 19th century “confidants”, made up of 2 armchairs assembled one to the other, head to tail.

Through a single building, the concept makes it possible to obtain two completely autonomous addresses and without any visual pollution of signs.

The topography of the land at variable height has made it possible to create upper terraces accessible by all occupants. The principle is to cover the building both above and below, with the construction of roofs colonized by summer amphitheatres, facing south, offering employees outdoor places to relax and work.

“The specificities of the project were, above all, programmatic. With regard to Nexity's regional headquarters, it was essential to offer another way of working and experiencing the building. The creation of appropriable terraces, stairs and outdoor passageways fully contribute to this objective and to reduce the use of indoor lifts” underlines the architect Jean-Pierre Lévêque.

Large facades and openings with an exclusive and evolving design

The building has been classified as HQE excellence, BREEAM Very Good. The verticality of the three buildings is based on facades inspired by architectural forms found in the Doge's Palace or Saint Mark's Square in Venice, with frames of posts and degressive columns that start from the ground to merge in the sky.

The CW50 curtain wall system made it possible to meet the requirement for a very precise and extremely marked geometry of the facades. The 5m40 grid on the ground floor soars skyward, followed by another 2m70 from the R+2, and finally 1,35m on the top level.

The rhythm of the facade is created by a principle of aluminum thorns 30cm deep which allow, through projected shadows, to give relief to the facade.

Depending on the movement of the observer and/or the sun, the building constantly evolves. The slightly coppery color of the aluminum structure evolves from orange-brown Corten to extremely warm and coppery colors.

The strong constraints in terms of smoke extraction, natural ventilation and access to firefighters have been solved by the implementation of French or Italian openings that can reach 1m wide by 35m high with an opening limiter, also serving as a guard.

Taking into account architectural expectations and requirements in terms of dimensions and acoustic performance, the technical support of REYNAERS Aluminum associated with the know-how of the company SERALU has developed 7 specific profiles: 2 half spines, 2 finishing caps, 1 groove profile for fitting to make the operation of large frames more reliable, 1 wedge support and an insert profile. Thus, the sound reduction has been adapted according to the orientation of each facade to achieve 32, 34, 37 and 38dB.

A project developed and validated with the AVALON 3D simulator

Positioned at the start of the COVID period, the project was able to benefit from the power and relevance of the AVALON system developed by the teams of the REYNAERS group. Designed to create a realistic and collaborative environment, the technical design and validation phases of “Lyon Vaise” took on their full meaning thanks to this simulator. From 3D files (Revit, Archicad, Sketchup, Navisworks, etc.), AVALON transforms the 3D architectural model into a virtual model within which stakeholders can move around, modify every detail and evaluate the different options, thus facilitating of decision.