A new production building for Emile Henry
Emile Henry, manufacturer of culinary ceramics made in France since 1848 and for 6 generations, is developing an industrial complex in close proximity to its logistics unit, its factory store and its 3 current production units in Marcigny, in the Saint-Nizier industrial zone, in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
GA Smart Building won the project in July 2021. The Group’s completion, a few years earlier, of a logistics building in Digoin, and the resulting good reputation, played a key role in obtaining the contract.
Among the constraints of the project: the tight deadline required for the construction of the future manufacturing workshop. The off-site approach developed by GA Smart Building has been praised for its ability to deliver a quality building in a limited time.
Together with Sight, GA Smart Building will construct an mixed-use building with a total surface area of 6,700 m², comprising 6,400 m² of manufacturing workshops and 320 m² of offices. The complex will welcome 50 Emile Henry employees, including 40 direct job creations.
The building permit was filed in December 2021 for a project kick-off in May 2022 and 8 months of construction.
Advise, design and build off-site – GA Smart Building’s expertise at Emile Henry’s service
The GA Smart Building teams have supported Emile Henry in a proactive approach to best develop their industrial process and specifications. GA also coordinated problems related to the land and its environment, on behalf of its client (ICPE, FRMP, wet area, building permit in ABF perimeter), in order to shorten the inquiry deadlines for the project as much as possible.
With its own position as a player in the industrial sector, GA was able to adapt to the demands of future users and grasp the project’s challenges. This synergy between the customer and the builder ensured the design of an efficient and sustainable building.
Thanks to its off-site and industrial construction approach, GA Smart Building masters each step, from FullBIM modelling, to the manufacture of structural and façade components at its Colmar plant, closest to Marcigny, to their assembly on site. This construction method thus ensures a high quality of the final construction, limits the environmental impact and minimises disturbance to residents. Finally, GA Smart Building’s construction processes ensure that construction times are controlled. This is the key to the success of the operation, particularly through the control of raw material supplies, which are so important in the current climate.
Emile Henry’s Marcigny workshops designed like a cookbook laid flat
With the assistance of Jean-François Gromaire, AMO Conception, the building was designed to evoke the image of a cookbook laid flat, with a binding that mimics editions of the Pléiade.
The material characteristics of the façade, oak-coloured imitation-wood metal, allow the building to integrate into its environment and reflect the world of homemade cuisine, the land, and delicious slow-cooked meals.
The harmonious architectural style is also characterised by the choice of colours, which is intended to look natural, and which complements the graphic charter of the Emile Henry brand.
Curtain walls bring lightness to the façades and leave the industrial process exposed.
Particular attention was paid to the environment and energy performance
As Emile Henry and GA Smart Building share a commitment to French industrial excellence, combined with a commitment to environmental performance, the new manufacturing workshops will enable the re-use of energy to optimise consumption. Indeed, the calories produced by the oven when the cooking the ceramics will be injected back into the industrial process for the purpose of drying the moulds, which will reduce general consumption.
At the same time, solar panels installed on the roof will facilitate electricity generation, which will be used as self-consumption to power Emile Henry’s industrial process.
As the subject of biodiversity has an impact on design choices, GA Smart Building, accompanied by Maîtres Cubes – a design office dedicated to project hydrology – created a wet area 4 times bigger than the wet surfaces sealed by the creation of the building. By enriching the pre-existing environment, this area will promote biodiversity and allow flora and fauna to flourish even more.
