At the heart of the Airbus Wings Campus, inaugurated in 2016, lies a multifunctional two-storied building that integrates a cafeteria, a restaurant, a fitness center and concierge service aereas If its situation and the services it brings together make it a point of convergence for the group's 1,500 employees, its central position and the equipment necessary for the smooth running of the different operations, must not break the vanishing lines drawn by the overall architectural project. This resolution of this equation involved moving from this nodal area both delivery flows and technical premises - the latter being buried and accessible from an English court located outside the building.

In order to protect the design lines and avoid any visual obstructions, Luc Tran Van also decides to lift the building up, thus raising the restaurant storey to the level of the trees canopy. Two facades get the double skin treatment, consisting of a glass wall and a three-dimensional structure covered with Frontside View 381 composite membrane, stretched over Aero A frames from FACADE TEXTILE INTERNATIONAL. "This micro-perforated fabric that has the particularity of returning solar radiation, gives an opaque appearance from the outside, while visually disappearing from the inside. Here we combine the solar protection properties expected from a regular sunscreen solution, with the visual comfort sought in the interior" explains the architect, before adding :

"The two façades are punctuated by a three-dimensional geometric pattern that recalls the effect of the foliage. Once the trees have reached their adult size, they will blend harmoniously into the surrounding vegetal environment."

Source : Serge Ferrari. (Adapted)

When we were first approached by the architecture firm CALVO-TRANVAN to carry out this iconic facade project at the heart the of the new Airbus aerospace pole, we were perfectly aware that it would be our most demanding challenge yet, both technically and aesthetically.

In addition to the overall shape of the three-dimensional textile skin, two technical requirements have kept our creative minds busy for a long time :

- The hollow joint in the outgoing angle edges, that needed to be identical to that of the re-entrant angles.

- The disappearance of the two horizontal carrying beams in the visual field of the occupant.

The development of Aero A profile

The Aero A profile benefited from the creative thrust and momentum of its cousin profile Aero S, designed in collaboration with architect Gustavo Boscan from the architecture firm Wilmotte in Paris, for the textile facade of SAFRAN’s car park project. The design of Aero A was truly innovative, as it leveraged its aerodynamic shape, by providing a self-cleaning function that does not allow pollution particles and plants to stagnate on the profile or membrane.

The overall shape of Aero A profile is inspired from the lines of the A380, resulting in a highly dynamic outline with no flat surfaces.