BESIX delivers Deloitte’s new University centre EMEA just outside Paris (France)

BESIX and Dalkia Smart Building have successfully delivered the Deloitte University EMEA project in Bailly-Romainvilliers, in the outskirts of Paris. The project, designed by the DUBUISSON Architecture, was commissioned by Nexity, France’s leading real estate group, to become the university centre for Deloitte employees working in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

A 135,000 m² campus, including gardens and a lake

As from February 2020, BESIX worked on this impressive new campus with its partner Dalkia Smart Building. On a plot of land of 135,000 square metres, the facility comprises a main building housing a large multifunctional room, 36 seminar rooms, 25 multi-purpose rooms, a restaurant, and 265 bedrooms. The surroundings bring peace to the campus with lush greenery and a calming 20,000 square metre artificial lake.

BESIX spearheaded all construction works, including earthworks, the structural and finishing works, civil engineering and foundation works. Beyond the structures, BESIX also curated the site’s landscape. The beautiful gardens and the brand new wooded parc host a wide variety of local water and land plants. Remarkably, this small ecosystem relies only on rainwater, thus eschewing the need of external water supply.

Complementing BESIX’s work, Dalkia Smart Building undertook the technical aspects of the project, overseeing heating, air conditioning, domestic hot water, lighting, electricity supply and overall building management (access control, video surveillance and Technical Building Management).

Sustainability, awards and recognition

The commitment to sustainability is palpable in the project’s design. The building harnesses more than 40% of its power from green and local energy. This is achieved through the 1,100 square metres of solar panels installed on carports, as well as a system to recover waste heat from IT installations and cold rooms. Additionally, the building has been designed to obtain first-class certifications for sustainability, of which it has obtained the Cradle to Cradle-certification as well as the Energie+Carbone- certification label and the Bâtiment Bas Carbone Label (BBCA). The BREEAM Excellent, Biodiversity Excellent and Well Building Institute Gold certifications should still follow.

In the meantime, the hard work showcased by BESIX-Dalkia has already been rewarded at MIPIM 2023 in Cannes, France. MIPIM is a real estate event gathering the most influential players from all sectors of the international property industry in Europe. On the 16th of March of last year, the Deloitte EMEA Training Centre received the first prize in the category Best Alternative Project. This milestone contributes to highlight that Deloitte University is an exemplary project, both in terms of energy performance and biodiversity.

“This project allowed us to show our execution capacities, from the foundations to the finishing touches. BESIX has looked for solutions and alternatives to meet the high expectations from the client and to respect the stringent architectural requirements, both on the technical and the environmental side. BESIX France is proud to deliver another stunning project, despite challenges that were met along the way. We wish to thank our partners and our client who collaborated with us on yet another successful delivery in France.” Guillaume Cornille, Project Director at BESIX.

About BESIX

BESIX is a leading Belgian group, based in Brussels and operating in 25 countries and on 5 continents, in the construction, real estate development and concessions sectors. Active since 1909, its iconic achievements include Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, buildings of the European Parliament in Brussels as well as the Grand Egyptian Museum, on the Giza pyramids plateau.

The Group's engineering department enables BESIX to carry out complex and unique projects, particularly in terms of technical and environmental aspects.

In 2023, BESIX is building the Saint-Denis Pleyel station for the Grand Paris Express (Paris’ Metro extension) and the soon-to-be iconic landmark Tour Triangle, a pyramid-shaped skyscraper at the heart of Paris. Earlier iconic projects in France include the Clinique Paré Cherest Hartmann in Neuilly, the Nice Airport Promenade real estate complex and the France Pavilion for the Dubai World Expo. In the Paris district of La Défense, BESIX built the Dexia Tower (CBX), as well as the Carpe Diem tower, the first skyscraper in the world to obtain double LEED Platinum and HQE certification.