A recently-inaugurated renovation project for Michelin’s corporate headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand, France, has given a new identity to the 130-year-old legacy brand that was “in need of a new setting to project into the future,” according to President Florent Menegaux.

The project was completed last year as a collaboration between the French studios Encore Heureux Architectes, Construire, and Base. It included adding a two-story extension and wood canopy entrance to the existing factory building at Place des Carmes which was acquired by the company in the early 2000s. An all-glass greenhouse that was enacted at the site soon after became the focal point of the project after initial plans called for its demolition.

As a “symbol of reinvention,” the new facades and remade greenhouse are combined with other renovated structures in order to create a more welcoming buffer between the site’s public and private spaces. Its design was a product of an extensive consultation with the company and city of Clermont-Ferrand, and incorporated an almost entirely reused and localized materials palette in order to be as sustainable as possible.

According to the architects: “This method of continuous presence and on-site follow-up allowed for a greater understanding of the group’s identity, while introducing a mindful practice that recognized the residents’ needs and adapted the program accordingly.”

The reuse of structural steel and reduction of cement highlights this concern. Finally, the newly-public plaza area is extended and beset with furnishings, water features, and added greenery. A small glasshouse museum, exhibition spaces, and Café Equateur complete the site. The total construction cost for the project was €26 million ($27.6 million).

"Bringing a potential vision to life for such an emblematic company was a challenge. The headquarters’ future could only be decided upon in collaboration with the company and within the company itself," explains Encore Heureux founder Nicola Delon. "This idea went hand in hand through an architectural consulting period with a studio set up at the heart of the company. Dialogue and workshops with Michelin teams truly became a corner stone of the design process behind the transformative headquarter program."