Located in Nantes, France, La Maison de l’innovation houses 1,200 IT experts across an elegant timber structure designed by Baumschlager Eberle Architects. Commissioned by La Poste Immobilier, the seven-story workplace promotes collaboration and wellness as well as sustainability. The bioclimatic building is crafted to facilitate natural ventilation and energy-efficient temperature control with additional shading and carbon offsets implemented via green recessed balconies and terraces. “The building is surrounded by leafy spaces,” says Baumschlager Eberle managing partner Anne Speicher, “offering a habitat for biodiversity and an intersection between the city, nature, water and people.”
Forging a link to the city, distinctive arch elements along the facade draw inspiration from the Vendée bridges stretched across the Loire, with one exterior arch appearing upended as it heralds arrivals. Post and beam ceiling structures extend across all seven floors and even frame an interior courtyard. The expansive two-story ground floor recalls a portico with its central atrium and freestanding interior wood staircase at its core underscoring the building’s stateliness. “The atrium was our suggestion,” adds Baumschlager Eberle managing director Mathias Bernhardt. “We devised it for a generous use of space within this volume. It is part of collective life, bringing together the people who work here.”
