© Federio Kraus pour Baumschlager Eberle Architekten
Innovation House
Contracting authority : Poste Immo
Architects : Baumschlager Eberle Architekten
Surface area : 15 500 m² GFA
Phases : Studies : 2018 – 2021 / Construction phase: 2021 – 2024 / Delivery : 2024
The Maison de l’Innovation, located on Nantes Island, brings together nearly 800 IT specialists and researchers from the La Poste Group, who were previously spread across four sites in the Nantes metropolitan area.
Designed by the architectural firm Baumschlager Eberle, the building covers approximately 15,500 m². It features a primary timber structure resting on a concrete substructure.
The building envelope consists of a unitized aluminum curtain wall, integrating both opaque elements and sunshades made of aluminum-based composite panels with a copper-like finish.
Elioth contributed to the design and execution follow-up of the timber-framed skylight covering the building’s atrium. This skylight provides generous natural light to all levels surrounding the interior void, enhancing visual comfort and the luminous atmosphere of the central space.
The main beams, made of glulam (glued laminated timber), span up to 25 m and have a height of approximately 1.35 m. Between these main beams, glulam purlins complete the structural grid, forming a harmonious architectural framework that organizes the skylight while giving it a warm and welcoming appearance. Steel tie rods provide additional bracing to the skylight structure.
The skylight sides incorporate natural ventilation openings, enhancing the thermal comfort of the atrium. The skylight panels are made of double-glazed, low-E, solar-control glass, complemented by external fabric blinds, contributing to thermal regulation and overall interior comfort.
This design combines structural performance, user comfort, and architectural quality, highlighting the natural materiality of wood and the transparency of the skylight.
The interior facades of the building continue the timber aesthetic of the skylight. They alternate between timber frame (FOB) bands and glazed bands, with cladding and window frames made of wood.
The exterior facades present a distinct appearance from the atrium. They are unitized curtain walls, combining glazed areas and opaque panels made of aluminum-based composites with a copper finish.
60 cm-deep sunshade fins articulate the facade and help reduce solar heat gains inside the building. These fins consist of a metal frame clad with composite sheets of the same type as the opaque panel cladding. They are suspended from the curtain wall units using extruded aluminum brackets.
Lucas GRISONI
directeur délégué / responsable pôle structures.
