The Grand Moulin de Pantin, a former mill built around 1880, stands majestically close to Parc de la Villette in Paris; in this plant the wheat, coming from the nearby regions of Brie and Beauce, was milled, and the flour produced from the 24 mills was distributed throughout the French capital.

Under the direction of Alsatian architect Eugene Haug, emblematic buildings were constructed beginning from 1923. These include the mill, the grain silo, the 47 meter high water tower shaped like a bell tower and the boiler room equipped with a powerful Babcock & Wilcox machine for generating power. One of the most original elements of the mill is the transporter bridge, which was designed and built to load flour onto barges that sailed along the Canal de l’Ourcq. In the decades following Second World War, parts of the damaged buildings were rebuilt and the plant was modernized on the model of the new industries of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Grands Moulins  became France’s first milling company when the Soufflet Group, one of the country’s leading grain traders, acquired it in 1994. However, due to growing competition and the decline in bread consumption in France, the new owners were unable to halt the decline and closed their business in 2003. Pantin’s local authorities joined the property  to ensure the furute of this site so rich in history, commissioning the Reichen & Robert Associes, an architecture studio that specializes in converting industrial properties, for a new intended use of the entire complex, which spans over 1.5 hectares, according to the HQE – Haute Qualitè Environmentale, a global approach certified by third parties designed to improve the environmental quality of a building on the principles of sustainable development, in order to assess and monitor its impact on the planet. Along with the offices for BNP Paribas Securities Services, a distribution center and commercial spaces were built within an investment of 85 million euros. In the space dedicated to lunch breaks and leisure, Newfloor has installed an ad hoc customized floor in accordance with the architect’s preferences.

For the project “Le Lab” cafè/restaurant area, Newfloor supplied with three different types of flooring: in the part dedicated to the tables, panels of type T38HAL with dimensions of 60×60 cm, wood chipboard core in high-density 720 kg/mc, aluminium foil as a bottom covering and linoleum Forbo marmoleum streaked 5218 welsh moor as a top finish; in the corridor area panels T38HAK with ceramic finish dim. 30×30 cm Apavisa Hydraulic R9 col. Black, natural finish, coupled in a base panel with dimension 60x60cm. Behind the workstations, we intervened with panels coated with Imola Micron 2.0 ceramic, col. RBN anti-clip R11 size 60×60 cm, also in wood chipboard.