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"Open" would appear to be the keyword for this project: "open" architecturally by adopting a concept that differs radically from the "blockhouse shopping centres" we are so used to; "open" to the future by aiming to achieve HQE® high-environmental-quality certification; "open" to its socio-economic environment through strong action in favour of local employment; "open" to partnership by giving the word its every meaning.

More than just a shopping centre, "It's a ‘shopping district' that client Icade/Klépierre and architectural firm Grumbach wanted to create", says the project manager for Construction Privée, the main contractor for construction and fitout, under a consortium with Brézillon (80/20). "The aim is for the public to feel they are in a street, one lined with shops". And it is not just a marketing statement: most of the 1200 metres of shopfronts will front onto open space and will use a variety of materials and architectural styles, including the "dockland look", a large contemporary greenhouse, simple industrial buildings, concrete composites, columns with architectural flair, steel cladding, brick cladding, stonework, aluminium panels, and ultramodern curtain walling. Brickwork and some of the sawtooth roofing evoke the site's industrial past yet are harmonious in their contrast with the 10,000 square metres of modern, light-filled slopeglazing. To the west, the edge of a dead-end slip - a loading-dock branch of the Saint-Denis canal - is lined with restaurants where diners can practically dangle their feet in the water! On the other side, facing the city, the building façade will be "urban", open, with glazed shopfronts. "It has to look as if the district and its buildings have always been there", says Olivier Boesch of architects Grumbach.

There will be no labyrinthine passageways for future shoppers despite the 160 different retailers; instead, broad die-straight walkways on two levels, closed in by expansive glass roofs, will make it easy to get one's bearings and overcome the feeling of being hemmed in that is so common. What is more, the architectural features found on the façades outside will be repeated on the inside, reinforcing the different identities and relieving visual monotony.

"The project's HQE® aspect was wanted from the start", explains the Icade project manager, "but things only fell into place in 2007-2008". It was then that in partnership with French environment and energy management agency ADEME and building-research institute CSTB, it was decided that the project would be a prototype for creation of an HQE® benchmark for shopping centres. "We're setting up a third generation of shopping centres, avoiding the worst of each of the two previous kinds", explains Olivier Boesch. "I mean, on one hand, centres that were completely closed in, with artificial lighting, and on the other, completely open buildings with glass roofs and curtain walling whose thermal efficiency was catastrophic". The Millénaire centre adopts ‘the third way', with some opaque enclosures and others that let daylight flood in. The result is energy savings in terms of lighting and air conditioning, and also better acoustics. The slopeglazing includes opaque panels which reduce reverberation of noise while also - very conveniently - concealing service ducts. Two eight-storey office buildings will also go up. They will be built to the THPE (very high energy efficiency) standards.

The project was preceded by some substantial preliminary work: demolition of warehouses, decontamination, earthworks (Brézillon), grouting to fill cavities caused by gypsum solution (750 boreholes), etc. For structural work, precasting was stressed, given the short lead-times: 40 km of beams, 10,000 hollow core slabs. A total of 20,000 precast concrete parts! This choice has made it possible to erect 1,500 sq.m of floor per day. Where it is not glazed, the roof structure is an immense, 30,000-sq.m plant room housing close to 80 air-conditioning units. Down below, the two basement levels offer 2,800 parking places. Safety and security are vital factors for this kind of project: there are 22,000 sprinkler heads, two security centres managing more than 200 CCTV cameras, about 100 fans in the carparks, and so on. Except for work inside the stores, Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France is in charge of the entire project, i.e. structure, fitout, and decoration, together with work in public areas such as a stormwater retention basin and three surface openings to the carparks. This is the largest new-build contract in the greater Paris area (capital investment of €420 million, with more than €200 million going to the Group). ETDE is in charge of power-voltage systems. Of course it is a project with reduced environmental disturbance, and it has qualified for Bouygues Construction's "Ecosite" label.

Alongside the HQE® high-environmental-quality initiative, Icade/Klépierre had another ambitious project carried out with the assistance of the local wider-area authority: involving the local population to a greater extent than the mere requirements of job-insertion provisions in public-sector contracts. The targets set were demanding: reserve 75% of vacancies for local hires, with 20% of these positions to be under job-insertion schemes; award 35% of construction, servicing, and maintenance contracts to local firms, etc. Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France and its partners rolled out considerable resources: miniforums in housing estates, a "job bus", training programmes, etc. Twelve locals with no qualifications signed up for training.

If this multi-faceted project is on the road to successful completion, it is in large part due to a spirit of partnership. "We didn't work alone in a corner, as often happens", confirms Olivier Boesch: "Our collaboration with the contractor started at the preliminary-design phase, which meant we were able to optimise the design. That is very rare. When you share a project, you find the best solution together". The work carried out in the early days constituted very real value-added. Internally too, cooperation prevailed, with the mobilisation of a broad array of specialisations and creation of business-development/engineering duos, followed by site foreman/site engineer duos.


"Open" qualifies the Millénaire centre too in terms of its relationship with the people of all kinds who were invited to visit the project throughout the year, including the very young like the children of Minorange guildworkers who came to see where their fathers work. "Open", the shopping centre will be ... in April 2011, completely, after 34 months of work. Its stores will include a 'Carrefour Market', and it will employ large numbers of people from Aubervilliers and neighbouring areas.





Publication : July 2010.