- Project: Le Chemin du Bois Harel
- Architect: ALTA Architectes
- Location: France, Rennes / Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande
- Year: 2025
- Area: 6920 m2
- Photography: G. Chevrier
ALTA Architectes has unveiled Le Chemin du Bois Harel, an ambitious timber office project located at the edge between Rennes and Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, on a site once known for its Crublé greenhouses. The project redefines the boundary between rural landscape and urban periphery, proposing an architecture that is both contemporary and connected to the landscape.
Where the countryside meets the city’s ring road, ALTA envisions a committed, sustainable, and human-scaled office development—a space that not only responds to functional needs but also enhances quality of life and promotes ecological responsibility.
Two Low-Carbon Office Buildings
The project is organized around two three-storey office volumes resting on a shared underground base that houses one level of parking. Designed in compliance with French 5th category ERP standards, the scheme provides:
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170 parking spaces, including electric vehicle charging stations
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Secure storage for bicycles to encourage soft mobility
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Offices complemented with social and communal spaces
What sets Le Chemin du Bois Harel apart is its low-carbon construction strategy. Approximately 80% of the structure is timber, sourced from sustainably managed FSC and PEFC-certified forests. Concrete is used only for structural essentials such as foundations and circulation cores, while cross-laminated timber (CLT) floors and timber frame façades define the main envelope.
Steel beams were introduced strategically to optimize ceiling heights, achieving generous 2.70-meter interiors filled with natural light.
Sustainable, Healthy, and High-Performance Design
The choice of materials reflects ALTA’s commitment to environmental responsibility and workplace wellbeing. Timber offers natural insulation and moisture regulation, ensuring excellent air quality, thermal comfort, and acoustic performance.
The building has been designed to meet rigorous environmental certifications, including:
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NF HQE Tertiary Building
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BBCA (Bâtiment Bas Carbone)
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E1/C1 performance level
These labels guarantee energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and ecological construction practices, positioning the project as a reference for sustainable office design in France.
A Material Palette Rooted in Context
ALTA crafted a palette of durable, tactile materials designed to harmonize with the site’s surrounding landscape:
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Spruce wood for façades, cladding, and vertical structures, lending warmth and vibrancy
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Natural anodized aluminum for windows, railings, and technical details, providing subtle refinement
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Natural zinc roofing and downpipes, blending seamlessly into the architectural silhouette
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Porcelain stoneware and permeable concrete at ground level, ensuring water infiltration and continuity of textures
By concealing technical equipment on the roof, the architectural form maintains a clean, elegant profile that integrates seamlessly into its context.
Toward a New Urbanity
Le Chemin du Bois Harel is more than just an office complex—it is a statement about the future of urbanity. By prioritizing timber construction, low-carbon strategies, and user comfort, ALTA has delivered an architecture that is restrained yet expressive, innovative yet timeless.
This project represents a new generation of French office buildings—where sustainability, wellbeing, and functional clarity converge to create spaces that are deeply connected to their environment and society.
