Bouygues win $224m Paris tower project contract

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Bouygues win $224m Paris tower project contract

Bouygues Construction is chosen to construct the Alto Tower, a new skyscraper in the Paris business district of La Défense.

Linkcity Ile-de-France, the property development arm of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, has signed a property development contract worth roughly €200 million with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a sovereign wealth fund, for the construction of the Alto Tower at La Défense. The works will be carried out by Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France Construction Privée.

Bernard Mounier, CEO of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, said: “The award of this contract, following 18 months of technical and engineering studies, repays the motivation and hard work of all the teams. By combining their range of skills, we were able to meet our customer’s expectations. We are very enthusiastic to have the chance to build a new skyscraper in the La Défense district.”

Designed by IF Architectes, the Alto Tower, which will be 150 metres tall, will provide 38 floors of high-class office space with total floor space of 51,000 m². It will stand out from neighbouring towers thanks to its glass-scale facade and to its bold architectural design. It will feature an unusual flare shape: the surface area of each floor will range from 700 m² at the foot of the tower to 1,500 m² at the top.

Not only will Alto have an innovative outline, it will also be highly energy-efficient, with a double-skin insulating facade. As a result, it will be awarded HQE® Exceptional and BREEAM® Excellent certifications.

The new tower will replace the Les Saisons office building, which leads into the Les Saisons sector. The project also includes the construction of a car park, shops and a vast square developed with EPADESA, the development authority responsible for La Défense. It will form part of the urbanisation of the La Défense ring road and will connect the Ancre neighbourhood in Courbevoie with La Défense itself.
The detailed preliminary design will be completed during 2016. Site works are due to get under way in September, and handover is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.

Bouygues Construction has built numerous towers at La Défense (including Exaltis, Opus 12, Cœur Défense, Total Tower and Areva Tower) and has been responsible for several large-scale refurbishment projects, including those of the First Tower and, more recently, the Allianz One Tower. Its expertise in building very tall towers is acknowledged around the world. Bouygues Construction is currently carrying out a number of projects in Asia, including the MahaNakhon Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Thailand, and the Eternia and Enigma condominiums in India, while in the Middle East it is engaged on the QP District real estate complex in Qatar.

Source: www.bouygues-construction.com

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.