niwa*: ‘garden’ / ‘place where Man conducts an activity’
niwa, the new Toulouse headquarters of GA Smart Building, has taken its position on the Piste des Géants at the heart of the Toulouse Aerospace district, a few steps from the Halle de la Machine.
niwa has been designed as a place conducive to the conception of sustainable real-estate, a place for activity, collaboration and innovation. This lively project reflects new ways of living and working together.
In direct relation to its urban surroundings, the architectural project dialogues with the buzz of the new and expanding district and the forthcoming footbridge that will connect it with the Rangueil science park.
Its ‘active’ base is alive with a variety of services. Innovative and welcoming, it combines lyrical landscapes with current preoccupations in terms of circular economy (re-use) in an interior fit-out by Sight: architects, interior architects and designers.
Largely open over the wider landscape, the upper levels house office floors that represent the preoccupations of Sight and GA Smart Building in terms of new ways of working, of off-site design, and the importance of technology to serve the user.
Furniture made of 100% re-used materials
Sight worked to identify sources of waste in GA Smart Building factories and around the Toulouse area. The waste that was found, collected and transformed (broken acro props, metal bars, dismantled railings, off-cuts of wood, recycled shells, etc.) made it possible to create new forms and new materials to fit out the spaces.
From waste, these residual materials were transformed into useful ressources for the fabrication of furniture and fittings. Their aesthetic was established quite naturally: acro props became table legs, ground-up shells were used to create a terrazzo effect, off-cuts of metal cable shuttering became planters.
The ‘flex office’
In the upper floors, the offices are widely glazed spaces bathed in natural light and open onto the wider landscape.
The star-shaped configuration of the office floors frees up four areas organized around a central meeting zone, favouring informal social moments.
Different layouts were tried out with the use of various furniture in order to provide a range of ways of working – alone or in groups.
These different ‘situations’ can be modified for the particular needs of a week, a day, or even an hour.
The flexibility offered to users by the absence of a designated desk favours concentration, collaboration, and ease of mobility within the office space.
Technology serving the user
niwa offers a range of equipment developed by GA Smart Building and designed by Sight for a smart and sustainable building, a demonstration of positive-impact design to reduce energy consumption.
Demonstration of off-site expertise
GA Smart Building has developed a range of products for quality work spaces, ensuring rapid and controlled construction and implementation, while respecting the environment.
The design of niwa is based on ‘off-site’ construction methods, that is to say the assembly of products pre-fabricated in a factory and then delivered onto the site.
Team:
Architects: Sight architecture + design
Client : GA Smart Building
Design and execution : GA Entreprise
Design team : Studio Montazami + Tezuka Architects
Landscape architect : Studio Mugo
Interior architect : Sight architecture + design
Signage : Studio Anderhalden
Murals : Veronika Wildgruber + Anne Klepper
Photographer: Epaillard Machado
Materials Used:
Metamo
Maison Tournesol
3.14
Carsey 3D
Merci Raymond
Oddos
Sedus
42 MPA
SPIE
Oxygène
Nature et création
Metalbi
Gariso
PALM
Maison Carelle
Megamark
Nehia
Perea
SPIE
Jiulia
Grafitti
