Banque de France - Paris La Courneuve

The Paris-La Courneuve center of the Banque de France (Central Bank) rises on the 4.5 ha wasteland of the former Babcock steel factory along the A86 motorway. This project is a reflection of the challenge that is the “Grand Paris” and the major changes happening north of the French capital, of which the Olympic Games in 2024 will be a part. The opening of the Banque de France is the sign of a renewal both for the industrial site and the entire area.
This new facility is a major step in the Banque de France’s plan to rethink its real estate and modernize its equipment with the creation of an industrial site compatible with its current objectives.

So as to handle soon after opening over 1 billion banknotes (25% of the national reserves), this project involves a specific material and technological infrastructure suited for highly secured and automated facilities.
The nerve center of this architectural plan is a safe composed of three juxtaposed cubic volumes.
Its main function is the high-speed automated control of banknotes. It is designed to automatically destroy worn out banknotes and put aside the ones deemed suspicious. Its secondary function is the storage of the banknotes in the 26-meter high safe.
Even though the building is supposed to be perfectly sealed, the emphasize on natural light is at the heart of the project. The white ceramic facade presents an alternated hollow pattern that softens the building’s defensive appearance and creates a vibration depending on the amount of sunlight.

This attachment to natural light is also demonstrated inside the building where a triangular void was turned into a planted patio open to the staff. At the entrance of the complex, two former Babcock buildings, dating back to 1923 for the brick one and 1987 for the concrete one, face the “safe”. These two units have been restored and organically connected to one another to be reborn as a unified office building that will be open to the public.
The general plan creates a dialogue between each entity of the site but also with the entire area. It questions the concept of the architectural openness of a site of which the primary function is to be fully sealed. The project is also a reflection of one of the main concerns of Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés’: the relation between heritage and contemporary architecture.

Program: Major refurbishment of two buildings of the former Babcock Wilcox steel factory (1923 and 1987) and conversion into tertiary buildings (offices, service area open to the public and staff cafeteria) and construction of a highly secured fiduciary building.
Assignement: Architecture, city planning, interior design
Completion: 2018
Location: 80, rue Emile Zola, 93120 La Courneuve
Built area: 23 500 m²
Tertiary built area (offices): 6.500 m², 4 levels above ground floor (capacity : 450 approx.)
Fiduciary built area (safe): 17.000 m²

Client: Banque de France
Contractor: Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés
Contractor, engineering and process: Artelia
Engineering firms: Axeflox (Process), Alternative (Acoustics)
Landscape designers: Agence Babylone
Interior designers: Majorelle (space planning)
Construction firms: Léon Grosse (general construction firm), CBC (structural works), Ineo (CFO and CFA), Spie (plumbing), Jean Lefebvre (gardens and green spaces)
Materials: Extruded ceramic (by Moeding) and metal cases for coating of the facade
Certifications: NF HQE for tertiary buildings by Certivéa + «Sustainable logistic platform» 3* by Afilog