New Châteaucreux business district

The project

The Châteaucreux business district will be one of the key engines for the reconstruction of the conurbation of Saint-Etienne, with offices, hotels and accommodations, all fed by the new tramway line connecting the town centre since September 2006.

The Châteaucreux business centre

The Châteaucreux business centre will cover 40 hectares, 250,000m² of which will be office space and will be connected to the town centre by the tramway. The aim of town planner is to make Châteaucreux a "genuinely attractive place to live". This urban character will be emphasised by a long landscaped walk which will border the square outside the railway station and the head office of Casino, the spearhead of the upcoming services facility (total area of 60,000m² bringing together the group's 13 existing sites and employing 2,500 staff).

The Châteaucreux business centre provides an opportunity for investors who wish to locate their business in a new district on the doorstep of Lyon at a price which compares very favourably with other French cities. The environmental target has been set in the form of a set of specifications to be applied to the overall development of the district.

The Grüner administrative centre will be, after Casino, the services centre's second largest operation. In the area of the TGV rail station, businesses, accommodation and a three-star hotel will be built; these will be ideally located to meet the needs of company executives and upper management on business trips to Saint-Etienne.
In addition to this, 40,000-60,000m² of land will ultimately be available in the railway station area (to the south-east).

An opportunity for investors

The first plots sold at Châteaucreux, after Casino's world headquarters, relate to the Grüner administrative centre, on the tramway route. This will be home to a number of public administrations and private businesses. The operation will cover 25,000m² to be built in two phases, the first of which will be delivered in early 2008.
Buildings to be constructed opposite the railway station will include a 120-room three-star hotel (with a 150-apartment business accommodation block complementing the hotel), accommodation and local businesses at the foot of the building: vehicle hire firms, travel agencies, gyms, etc.

Saint-Etienne's "Fifth Avenue" is expected to attract company offices from Saint-Etienne itself or further afield. 110,000m² of net floor area will be under construction between now and 2009 in the area around the Châteaucreux business district.

Saint-Etienne Métropole Design

Saint-Etienne and its surrounding area are backed by strong industrial and artistic traditions which combine cultural creation and technological innovation. Thanks to the harmonious continuation of two centuries of industrial design and manufacturing know-how, Saint-Etienne Métropole is now asserting itself as a natural location in which to realise the vision of a development project based on design and modernity.

A unique concept in France

The Cité du Design (design centre) will open in 2009. A historic area for a futuristic architectural vision, the Cité du Design is intended to be the perfect solution to the conurbation's desire to build a future which combines the industrial and artistic traditions of our region and the technological innovation required for its future growth. The purpose of this area will be to unite all players in the design industry in a common goal: object culture and industrial creation.

A forum for modern times and a tool for promoting industrial design, the Cité du Design is rooted in Saint-Etienne's tradition of industrial design, and is a practical demonstration of the entire conurbation's ambition to become the design capital of France.

The project devised by the Lin agency and featuring the architect Finn Geipel, is designed around the banqueting hall of the former national arms factory and a "deck" of avant-garde architectural design. Built at a lower level and with a slightly convex shape, this structure is a combination of a variety of areas: construction resources centre, library, greenhouse, cafeteria, reception area, exhibition rooms, auditorium, amphitheatre.

The deck acts as a "network focus point", in association with the site's other more traditional buildings, which will house offices, artists' accommodation, laboratories and technical facilities. The Fine Arts school will be transferred to this site, where cultural sites will overlap with the design centre and activity, teaching and research areas. A signal tower, topped by an observation platform, has been constructed to allow the building work to be observed.

A flagship event : the international biennial event of Design

Founded in 1998 by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under the auspices of the city of Saint-Etienne, this event provides an insight into the diversity of design at a worldwide level by presenting a multitude of objects which serve to interpret the philosophies and issues of our time.

It brings together independent designers, agencies, publishers, companies, schools, institutes and design centres, covering such diverse areas as objects, fashion, urban innovation and architecture. As a complement to all of the above, specialist seminars and symposia on design issues are also held.
The Carnot district : the Cité du Design at the heart of a huge urban regeneration development