Concept
Arte Charpentier Architect’s design for the headquarters of the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie Nationale (DGGN) won the first prize in a competition organized by the Ministry of Defense. The project, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, completed in 2012 under a Public-Private Partnership contract, brought together in one place the various services which had, until then, been scattered across 12 sites in the Île-de-France region.
The architectural project for this prestigious national public facility, reflects the aim of the Ministry of Defense to combine traditional with modern, on a site characterized by residential suburb and a place of military heritage. The new headquarters, although resolutely contemporary in design, fit easily into their new surroundings, and provide a natural extension to the military bastion that adjoins the plot.
The project achieves a high environmental standard, meeting the requirements of HQE and THPE certification. It ensures a harmonious relationship with the environment, whilst reducing energy needs and facilitating maintenance. The values of sustainable development supported by the DGGN are shown to be integral to and inseparable from architectural quality.
Program
The requirements of the brief included the provision of 72,000m² gross floor area comprising 40,000m² of office space, 1,500m² of administrative premises, a 200-seat conference centre, a consulting room, a firing range, a sports centre, a 60-place crèche for the use of neighbouring residents, archives, and a car park of 550 places.
The inner street, a landscaped promenade leading from the prestigious reception hall, gives access to the vertical cores which, in turn, give access to satellite functions such as the mess and its kitchens, sports facilities, a hotel, a medical centre, and chapels located within the barracks.
Team
Client
– Client Developer: EIFFIGEN (EIFFAGE)
– PPP contract (Public-Private Partnership)
– User: Gendarmerie Nationale
Project team
– Architect: Arte Charpentier Architectes
– Interior Designer: Arte Charpentier Architectes
Technical consultants
– Structural: AD Structure
– Restoration: Score
– Acoustics: A & A
– SPS: OTCC
– SSI: Vulcaneo
– Technical Control: Veritas
– HQE: The Sommer Environnement
– Planner: EIFFIGEN (EIFFAGE)
Project specifics
– Title: Directorate General of the National Gendarmerie
– Address: rue Claude Bernard and rue Zamenhof
– Postal Code: 92131
– City: Issy-les-Moulineaux
– Completion: February 2012
– Programme: Architectural design and site supervision
– Office rental space: no
– Specific facilities: Officers’ Mess and cafeterias, conference room (200 seats), boardroom, crèche (60 places), car parking (550 places), shooting gallery
– Floor area: 72 000 m²
– Cost: € 105 million
– Illustration: © JP. Porcher, © Gendarmerie Nationale, © G. Tordjman
– Environmental Certification: HQE® – THPE
