French based international news channel euronews has signed several contracts confirming a move to one of the most prominent buildings in Lyon’s new Confluence district in 2013, the broadcaster has announced.
Euronews will co-own its future headquarters along with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (development bank) and Voies Navigables de France (riverways administration), with whom it has just signed the contracts.
The three co-owners have also agreed a building contract with Lyon-based developer Cardinal. The building is designed by architects Jakob and MacFarlane who also designed the Cité de la Mode et du Design fashion institute on the docks of Paris, and the Restaurant Georges at the Pompidou Centre. They regularly exhibit their projects in museums (London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, San Francisco’s SFMOMA, the Moscow Museum of Architecture, Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum etc.). The design is a modern and spacious building with a strong identity, adapted to suit the international news channel that is euronews.
Lyon Confluence is an urban renewal project aimed at Greater Lyon’s central business district. A project of this scale is rare in Europe and it represents a major undertaking for the Lyon area. When complete, the 150 hectares will double the city’s central business district. In this new location, euronews will join other renowned international companies, such as GL Events and media entities Le Progrès and Espace Group.
Construction work will begin in September 2011 and the moving and relocation process should begin in September 2013.
Euronews said in a statement: “This new building, one of the Confluence district’s most eye-catching, will raise the channel’s profile as well as its status at local, national and international levels. This move into the city centre also represents a genuine venture for euronews and will provide the additional space needed to keep up with the expansion of the channel in recent years. By moving from a 4500 sq. m to a 10,000 sq. m space, not only will euronews’ working environment improve, so too will its capacity for development within this new space, set in a luxurious location at the confluence of the rivers Rhone and Saone.”