Challenger – 30 Years of Innovation at Bouygues Construction Headquarters

More than headquarters, this is “Employee House”

Initiated by Francis Bouygues, Challenger strives to be a reflection of the “boldness and creativity” of Bouygues’ men and women. The American architect Kevin Roche was chosen to design the building after a tender process launched in 1983. The building would be built in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines on avenue Eugène Freyssinet, as an homage to the French inventor of the pre-stressed concrete technique.

An ambitious project

The project covers a 30-hectare site and has been organised around a central building comprising three atria and four office wings over three levels, all above a two-level car park. Its total height was limited to 20 metres because of its location within the Chateau de Versailles conservation area. Two other three-level triangular buildings, bounded by two pools of water, complete the structure.

A major undertaking

This was a construction site where construction specialist Bouygues was its own client, and the works teams were aware of the need to be outstanding. For the 500 people involved, in total - including 350 site workers - this construction also had symbolic value. The project began in September 1985 and would last two years.

BIM ahead of its time

To manage this project, there was a computer-based management system optimising workloads and the proper execution of the different project tasks. Monitoring the plans was a full-time, three-person job. Just choosing the materials and colours required a 30-metre long and 15-metre high model to be erected on site.

A building for employees

The build was delivered at the end of 1987 and at the start of 1988 3000 employees moved in to a building designed to facilitate communications - the rounded shape let employees face each other as if they were in a meeting - where the problem of the quality of life at work was already at the heart of company concerns.

Innovative & avant-guard

Challenger is one of the first “smart” buildings in Europe: it integrated the most advanced communication, IT and administrative techniques. As well as centralised technical management, it includes IBM Token Ring technology that was revolutionary for the time. Workstations communicate with each other without relying on a central system, although this feature required more than 200 km of cable to be installed. The whole of the building is also air-conditioned.

Did you know?

In 1987, EPI (a Bouygues subsidiary that has since been sold) made copies of Coustou’s “Les Chevaux de Marly” horse statues on the Place de la Concorde to protect the originals from becoming weather-worn. The architectural concrete process was used, which was very innovative for the time. Francis Bouygues obtained special permission from the then Culture Minister Jack Lang to make an extra copy for his headquarters.

From Bouygues to Bouygues Construction

On 26 June 2006, Bouygues SA employees left Challenger and moved to 32, avenue Hoche in Paris. Challenger became the headquarters for Bouygues Construction.

Becoming the 21st century reference for sustainable renovation

Twenty years after its creation, Challenger underwent a complete renovation programme with an ambitious objective - to increase the building's energy and environmental performance whilst improving the working conditions for its 3200 employees. The renovation also included a site extension project, most notably with the creation of 1500m² of extra office space. One challenge stood out throughout this renovation - increasing our capacity to renovate and deliver sustainable buildings.

HQE®, LEED® and BREEAM® certification

Designed to be a useful sales tool and as the ambassador building for the Group’s know-how, Challenger aimed for and obtained triple certification - HQE (Exceptional Sustainable Building Passport), LEED (Platinum) and BREEAM (Outstanding). Challenger became the first site of its size to be renovated according to triple-certification criteria.

Using natural resources and reducing our consumption

We carried out several projects to reach the environmental objectives set - building insulation was improved and 88% of the glazed façades were replaced with a very high thermal performance façade. The heating and air conditioning use the energy present in the ground and air as their primary energy sources. Part of the electricity necessary for operation of the site is produced locally by installing 25,000 m² of photovoltaic panels.

Using natural resources and reducing our consumption

We installed 2,850 m² of artificial wetlands to process rain and wastewater. The objective was zero discharge into sewers and a 58% annual increase on mains water consumption. Rain water recycled through water pools feeds the adiabatic coolers (high water use), toilets and carwash. Wastewater, once filtered is used to water the lawns.

The Cockpit, the Challenger’s nerve centre

The Cockpit, the new building located to the North of the site, serves to manage the whole site, including lights, air-conditioning, solar farm, etc. It is educational and is used to explain the different know-how used in the renovation. It is also a sales tool to show customers the water projects that Group entities have designed.

Entirely re-designed work areas

In order to improve employee comfort, changes were made to improve the lighting, equipment, air-conditioning and acoustics. All the furniture in the offices and meeting rooms was replaced. The project, which began in 2010 and was completed in 2014, took place on an occupied site and carried the Ecosite and Chantier Bleu labels.

Laboratory and showcase for our range

Over 30 years, Challenger has been unceasingly renovated to stay one step ahead of employee and customer needs. As part of this drive, in 2016 Challenger was equipped with a “connected campus” range demonstrator, including a Learn Lab, a MooC studio, a FabLab and a virtual reality room. In 2017, a connected homes demonstrated was created to accompany the release of our Wizom range. The Cockpit now also includes a connected city demonstrator.

Place to BY

Bouygues Construction launched “Place to BY” in 2017. The objective is to promote our expertise and capacity to design the workplaces of the future. Impacting both on the interior and exterior of the site, the project provides for the creation of garden offices, a sports track, innovative meeting rooms and a Services and concierge space. These changes are supported by a digital component, whereby applications will be made available to make it easier to access services.