Bâtiment F
Building F embodies all the ideas that led to the creation of the Campus block, of which it is the flagship within the Sollys project. Small in size — a three-storey building with a ground floor and three upper floors, and a footprint of 14 × 23 metres — the project reflects an efficient approach, using minimal technology to maximize space and offer a different workplace experience. Its architecture is a unified whole from which nothing can be subtracted.
It manages to combine generosity and restraint.
Generosity is reflected both in the reversibility of its programming and in the quality of the various spaces that make up the building.
The ground floor, with its generous ceiling height of 4.50 metres, houses a café/bar on its western side, opening onto Place Hubert Mounier and featuring a large terrace that contributes to the vibrancy of the neighbourhood, opposite the contemporary music venue at the Marché Gare. On its eastern side, the lobby, running between the street and the landscaped courtyard, provides access to the office floors.
Floors 1 through 3 offer three very open-plan office spaces that enhance the connection to the surrounding urban context and provide ideal natural light.
The clarity of the layout stems from a desire to offer flexible floor plans in order to facilitate and multiply potential uses. All vertical circulation and technical rooms are concentrated in the eastern part of the building, freeing up the generous floor plates.
On the top floor, a meeting room benefits from immense windows framing remarkable landmarks of the neighbourhood, including the chimney of the Cité Perrache, the Aires Mateus tower, and the Sainte-Foy cliffs. It opens onto a large terrace, accessible to the entire building, overlooking the neighbourhood and the wider Lyon landscape. Large planters break up the starkness of this sunny space.
All levels are served by an exterior staircase in the Chambord style, combining metal and wood. This beautiful staircase is in keeping with the style of staircases in old Lyon, such as those in the Cour des Voraces and Vieux-Lyon. With views of the Rhône River and the Alps in the background, it contributes to the design of the façade and offers a high-quality user experience. Oversized for the office version of the building, it allows for its possible reversibility into a higher education institution or other programmes that require greater density.
Simplicity is reflected in the frugality of the construction and technical choices that were made.
The load-bearing concrete structure defines Building F. It clearly organizes its plan and creates façades whose grid is consistent with the historical character of industrial architecture. Highly optimized in terms of calculations, the concrete structure incorporates meticulous details that enhance the quality of the spaces created, including the column-beam assembly, rainwater harvesting in the cornices and discharge via spray jets, and the precise layout of the concrete core walls and exposed slabs.
The façade infill is achieved using high-performance aluminium joinery and timber-framed transoms with bio-sourced wood wool insulation. These transoms are clad with white cellular aluminium panels. The white of the façades corresponds to the shades of white required by the masterplan.
Designed according to bioclimatic principles, the building takes advantage of its location and orientation to open generously to the outside. It benefits from the substantial shadow cast by the 16-storey tower on its south façade. External blinds contribute to managing solar gain while allowing for effective natural ventilation.
Inside, the elimination of superfluity reveals the raw concrete structure — cores, columns, beams, and slabs — as well as the technical systems, without suspended ceilings or raised floors. The highlighting of technical equipment and the carefully positioned acoustic baffles characterize the interior of the office floors and provide them with significant clearance: 3.30 metres under the slab and 3 metres under the equipment.
The chosen technical systems are simple and proven, allowing the desired level of comfort to be achieved with minimal energy consumption and maintenance. Heating and cooling are primarily provided by an active slab system that fully optimizes the thermal inertia of the exposed concrete in the offices and offers the best possible temperature quality. Supplementary heating is provided by finned radiators at the base of the windows to individualize the heat output. Ceiling fans improve the perceived temperature in summer and reduce cooling needs.
The building combines a load-bearing concrete structure with precast concrete façade elements, such as cornices, and cast-in-place concrete elements, including façade columns, slabs, and interior partition walls. The infill consists of FOB transoms, bio-based wood wool insulation, and lacquered cellular aluminium finishing panels. The upper floors feature aluminium joinery with blackout blinds and glass railings, while the ground floor uses steel joinery. The exterior staircase has a lacquered steel structure and oak treads. The terrace and staircase railings are made of laced steel. Heating and cooling are provided by an active slab powered by a cogeneration unit running on green gas.
