A monumental work of art made of Polysensual Concrete® is set up in the lobby of the new head offices.
Designed by artist Milène Guermont and made with the help of the GA factories, this work alone symbolizes the creativity, concern for attractiveness, and attention to detail that the GA Group has put into the construction of its headquarters.
The architectural firm of CDA Architectes designed Agua to ensure optimal thermal, acoustic, visual and ergonomic comfort to all GA employees who work there. The space is laid out with open-plan offices, numerous meeting rooms and convivial areas, all designed to foster team work.
We are convinced that an office building should be at the service of a company's performance,” says GA Group Chairman Sébastien Matty. “A warm and friendly work area flooded with light is a source of well-being and communication between teams -- two essential factors for the success of a company. , Chairman of the GA Group.
Agua is also a technical and technological feat. The programme was first designed using “Full BIM”, a 3D digital model developed by the GA Group. The components of the building’s structure and façade as well as its equipment were produced in the two GA factories in Labège, near the construction site, and then transported to the site, where they were assembled.
The 3,500-sq m building was constructed in just 7 months thanks to this unique construction process.
Agua is the first tertiary building in the Midi-Pyrénées region to have earned the BEPOS-effinergie® label. The building boasts an actual energy consumption of less than 25 kWh per sq m per year for the equipment related to comfort (heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and domestic hot water). This performance was achieved through bioclimatic architectural design and ultra efficient equipment.
Energy consumption is made up for by photovoltaic panels in the roof coupled with geothermal heating and cooling. Any unconsumed energy that is left over is re-injected into a Smart Grid set up for the buildings in the La Plaine industrial estate.
Agua is the forerunner of a new generation of intelligent offices. It is monitored and configured in real time by means of Galaxy Pilot®, the software that monitors energy consumption which was developed by the GA Group in 2006. Connected to thousands of captors positioned throughout the building, Galaxy Pilot® is intelligent – all it does is execute. It learns from employees’ behaviour, integrates their habits and takes weather forecasts into account.
In addition, employees are provided with a smartphone application which allows them to coordinate the parameters of their comfort by adjusting the heating and lighting while at the same time controlling the quality of the indoor air.
Crédits Photos : Groupe GA
