What was the initial aim of the Design Centre project?
Innovation, both in design and engineering, is a key component of the Group’s strategy. Reflecting on the creative process within the Group quickly prompted the decision to build a Design Centre that would bring together all the teams and technical facilities required for the design process. This decision was further supported by our strategy of reducing costs and time-to-market, while promoting the development of an increasing number of silhouettes.


What are the expected benefits for customers of the two marques?
The design commitment embodied in the new Centre will enable us to optimize our innovation capabilities by bringing together people from different backgrounds with different sensitivities, and by helping creative talent to blossom around new concepts to meet our customers’ expectations and aspirations.

The Centre will make it possible to accelerate the convergence of the teams involved, enabling them to work simultaneously and thus avoid subsequent redesigning and modifications. Design quality will be enhanced, cycle times will be reduced, along with production costs, and the freed-up resources can be allocated to the development of new body styles. The renewal and innovative content of our product lines are currently two key factors in our success.

Could you describe the spirit of the building?
First, the size of the building (220 meters long, 41 meters high and 65 meters wide) required a striking architectural signature to blend in with the features of the site, located close to the scenic Vallée de la Bièvre.

Second, the building has a special mission because it will accommodate the Group’s design studios, which will consist of vast spaces without load-bearing structures, naturally lighted by five-meter high windows along the east facade. It will also provide large open spaces to accommodate the engineering design and vehicle project teams, whose dimensional requirements vary constantly.

The Centre’s architecture reflects concern for confidentiality, which does not exclude a large number of open terraces allowing people to work whenever possible with natural light while being shielded from curious eyes.

We also wanted to link the existing building (currently the Citroën Design Centre) and the new building by providing areas at their interface for encounters and exchanges.

Third, it’s important for the Centre to become a forum for culture and exchange, a crossroads for knowledge that will stimulate the creativity of designers and styling teams by bringing them together under the same roof.


Videos :
- Guided tour: at the Heart of the Centre
- The Centre of an architect - J. Ripault

[07/08/2002]