Maroquinerie Hermès

The first stone of the factory was laid in September 2020 in Louviers, Normandy. The new Hermès saddlery and leather goods workshop is the first industrial building in France to be awarded E4C2 certification (highest level). Thanks to its optimized envelope and various sources of energy supply (solar panels and geothermal energy), the building produces energy that is shared with the EDF grid. Its low carbon footprint is ensured above all thanks to the use of local materials such as terracotta bricks produced less than 50 miles away.

The program also involved the rehabilitation of a brownfield site close to the city center, and serves as proof of concept for the Hermès Group’s future leather goods factories.

The relationship with the existing structures was primordial. The inside/outside interface is extremely fine. The buildings’ orientation, morphology, and envelope were optimized to reduce energy dependency as much as possible.

The aim was to design a building that intrinsically adapts its behavior to climate conditions. In winter and the cooler months, the building is airtight and protected from the cold by virtue of an airtight envelope with high thermal envelope performance that retains free winter solar heat gains thanks to a glazed surface that is calibrated and positioned according to its use. In summer and warmer months, the building is protected from the sun’s rays by its facades, plants, and sheds newly introduced.