Cataroux Park – the groundbreaking of the Collaborative Innovation Center

The groundbreaking of the Collaborative Innovation Center on Wednesday 3 April marks a major milestone in this project dedicated to innovation, and the only one of its kind in Europe. Initiated in 2020 and spearheaded by five major local players: Crédit Agricole Centre France, the Michelin Group, Banque des Territoires, Caisse d’Epargne Auvergne Limousin and Puy-de-Dôme Clermont Auvergne Métropole Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Center has required 61 million euros in investment. It will become a point of convergence for business and innovation players, accommodate 2,500 people daily and create 40 direct jobs. It is scheduled to open in December 2025.

Entrusted to Cardinal Promotion, the development is based on an active environmental approach with a ‘very good’ BREEAM rating. The program sets itself apart for the regeneration of an entire swathe of Michelin’s historic industrial site that has been transformed into a living, working and well-being area.

At the center of the rapidly-transforming 42-hectare site, the project, designed by Z Architecture, is spurring a new identity. 50 companies are involved in the program, the majority of which are regional firms, alongside 150 partners. They are constructing five building clusters in a single, multifaceted arena.

The Center could be described as a ‘city within a city’, providing opportunities to work, sleep, dine, relax and discuss ideas.

The ubiquity of wood, both in the structure itself and in its siding, in the food-court and on the southern gables of the co-living and co-working spaces, dovetails seamlessly with the greenery that enhances thermal comfort in summer, both inside and out.

The architecture and landscaping have been optimized, contained and compressed to limit the use of raw materials and energy-intensive systems, while ensuring optimum comfort for users.

The development’s mantra is: don’t demolish – adapt and replant.

Outside, vegetation has been planted across a 11,000 m² area, mainly in internal gardens (between each nave) and in Gordon Bennett Square, resulting in a veritable urban biotope.

Management company, Turing 22, will offer a wide range of services including a co-working space, co-living accommodation, a food court with five food kiosks, a bar, bakery, gym, beauty salon and performance space.

Based on its founders’ designs, the Center will not only be a physical space, but also a meeting point for a committed community, that will significantly enhance the image of the local area and its economic vitality. It will play host to businesses of all sizes and innovation stakeholders who share the same values and develop projects to make a positive impact. 

The Center is one of the four pillars of Cataroux Park, a vast project undertaken by the Michelin Group to breathe fresh life into unoccupied space at its historic Cataroux site in Clermont Ferrand city center.

Announced in January 2020, Cataroux Park hopes to boost innovation and drive economic and social vitality, both on a local and regional level. The project is supported by numerous private stakeholders, as well as by the local authorities, in particular Clermont Auvergne Métropole, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the French State. It comprises four pillars that will deliver sound future prospects for the local economic, educational and cultural fabric: the Talent Factory, the Sustainable Materials Center, the Pistes District and, of course, the Collaborative Innovation Center.

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