Timber hybrid project selected to transform former industrial site

Tenderstream member Henning Larsen has been named as designer of NEOMA’s new French Business School, in Reims, France.  Forty practices competed in an international contest to design these new spaces, with the winning project selected for its combination of innovation and respect for the environment, together with a focus on student life. Besides Henning Larsen, the winning team includes Patriarche, Egis, Elioth, Etamine, Acoustb and Creafactory.

“We are extremely pleased that we were able to win the competition for the new NEOMA campus with our design. It stands for entrepreneurship, flexibility, and design excellence,” says Jacob Kurek, global design director and partner at Henning Larsen. “We will bring our expertise in university construction from more than 60 years to this project and develop it further together with NEOMA.”

Located to the west of the city centre, the site chosen for the new NEOMA school is part of the Port Colbert, a former industrial site. The aim is to transform the district, while preserving and enhancing its identity history and heritage. In recent years, small businesses and local ‘pop up’ events have populated site, with the NEOMA campus inspired by this entrepreneurial atmosphere.

The school holds 85 classrooms, two amphitheatres and an event space with a 750-seat auditorium accessible from outside. The campus opens towards the canal and parks that surround it, while the central structure in wood attracts attention with its stepped green landscape. In line with the school’s strong commitments in terms of sustainable development, the future Reims site aims to be an environmental benchmark, with internationally recognized certifications such as LEED, WELL and E+C. The project also places the health and well-being of students and staff at the centre of its design.

Søren Øllgaard, Design Director, Europe and partner at Henning Larsen, stated: “With the new NEOMA, we want to keep this impression of “anything can happen” and create an open invitation to shape and to take ownership of its environment and its future.”

The 26,000 m sq campus aims to accommodate 4700 students and is scheduled to open for the start of the 2025 academic year.

Lucy Nordberg

Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 20.07.2021 here

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