A consortium headed by Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France has signed the contract for the City of Music on Seguin Island in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, with the Hauts-de-Seine Department, in the context of a public-private partnership. The project awarded to the consortium consists in building (finance, design, construction) a new iconic cultural facility and developing its artistic influence through an international programme dedicated to all forms of music (artistic and commercial operation as well as maintenance for a period of 27 years). The value of the works will amount to €170 million.

This new 36,500 m² musical facility will be unique. The complex designed by architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines will combine concert halls, spaces for music teaching and training, recording studios, a seminar centre, restaurants and shops. In particular, it will incorporate a large hall with between 4,000 and 6,000 seats devoted to modern music and a 1,100-seat auditorium dedicated to classical and contemporary music.

The architecture corresponds to the beauty of the Seguin Island site. The curved lines of the structure will marry those of the downstream point of the island. The auditorium, with its shell made of braided wood, appears to float upon a mirror of water. A large sail bearing more than 1,000 m² photovoltaic solar panels, surrounding the auditorium, will follow the path of the sun. Standing tall over the river, the City of Music will also be a promenade area open to the general public.

The project's environmental credentials will be confirmed by several labels: HQE^® Excellence, the Biodiversité Urbaine¹ label and the HQU label level ***².

Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, will be responsible for the design and construction of the City of Music. The works will begin in March 2014 and conclude in June 2016. At peak periods 500 employees will be working on the site.
Philippe Fabié, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Bouygues Construction, said: "Bouygues Construction's strategic positioning is to propose comprehensive offerings that respond to the increasingly complex expectations of customers and communities. We do this by calling upon all our internal skills but also external partnerships formed with the shared ambition of being committed over the long term to fulfilling public needs."

TF1 and Sodexo are involved in the project to provide the management and operation of the City of Music, contributing their own expertise. The artistic direction (as a complement to programming organised by the Department) will be in the hands of TF1 because of its strengths in programming, broadcasting and promoting events, with the help of the future Chair of the Artistic Direction Committee, Pierre Lescure.

Régis Ravanas, Deputy Chief Executive of the TF1 group with responsibility for Diversification, said: "We are very pleased to have been appointed to run the management of the City of music on Seguin Island. The TF1 group offers exceptional exposure to music and live shows both on television and thanks to its diversifications. In particular, we have set up partnerships and co-productions that have met with great success. The management of the City of Music will enable us to be active throughout the entire value chain and to develop a growth driver for the TF1 group."

Sodexo's role will be to ensure the durability and maintenance of the structure as well as all the services provided to residents, artists and populations of spectators and corporate users. According to Nathalie Bellon Szabo, President of Sodexo's Prestige, Sports and Leisure division: "Sodexo is proud to be involved in this exceptional project alongside the Hauts-de-Seine Department, and to bring to bear all its expertise in managing prestigious places and brands, major events and live performances to help promote the international influence of this unique cultural facility! Everyone will be able to count on a set of services that guarantee a quality of life at all times!"

The principal shareholder in the consortium is OFI InfraVia, a specialised infrastructure investment fund. Vincent Levita, Chief Executive Officer of the fund, said: "OFI InfraVia's role is to invest in public-interest assets in the context of partnership and concession contracts. We are delighted to finance this high quality project for the Hauts-de-Seine Department, working alongside our industrial partners."  
 

¹ Label instigated and awarded by the CIBI (Conseil international Biodiversité et Immobilier).

² The Haute Qualité d'Usage label awarded by the CRIDEV (Centre de Recherche pour l'Intégration des Différences dans les Espaces de Vie)