Safran lays new Toulouse premises foundation stone

On September 10^th., the foundation stone of the future Safran, Toulouse site was laid. Within the next 14 months, the building with a white rendered and aluminum external façade, will house 25,000 m2 (270,000 sq. ft.) of office space. The future premises have been designed as a window on the Safran group, the second largest aviation employer, after Airbus, in the region.

Marc Ventre: Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations - Safran: "Of the 3,600 employees we have in the region, 1,400 will be relocated in this building which will house a certain number of laboratories for Labinal Power Systems who work particularly on the development of increasingly electrically powered aircraft. It will also incorporate the design offices of Safran Engineering Services, and a certain number of local specialised units of Sagem, Snecma, and Microturbo, etc "

In regrouping the different Group entities, and to promote means of collaboration between them, the architectural firm responsible for the project opted for three separate buildings linked by basic, common, shared services.

This common area will include meeting rooms, exhibition, relaxation and dining areas, with several integrated patios. The ensemble will be connected to a multi-storey car park of 1,100 parking spaces giving employees direct access to their offices.

Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Architect - Wilmotte & Associates: "What we wanted to create is a very, very simple building. Today, we no longer live in a period when we produce phantasmagorical or eccentric designs. Hence, the efficient, functional building. We based it on light and transparency, i.e. narrow 12 metre ( 40 ft.) wide open space offices, bathed in natural light, with huge urban windows."

The future site of Safran, Toulouse, will be operational in December 2015. The estimated € 40 million project cost, will not have to be borne by the aerospace supplier, since they will only be tenants of the premises. The property, in fact, belongs to a banking group.