Saint-Gobain’s new Innovation Centre was recently officially opened by French ambassador to the UK Bernard Emié, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain Group Pierre-André de Chalendar, and Peter Hindle MBE, general delegate of Saint-Gobain UK, Ireland and South Africa.
Located at 95 Great Portland Street, London, the Saint-Gobain Innovation Centre showcases the latest solutions for a more sustainable built environment from the company’s UK businesses, including Artex, British Gypsum, Ecophon, Saint-Gobain Glass, Saint-Gobain Isover, Saint-Gobain PAM, Pasquill and Saint-Gobain Weber.
As well as demonstrating how products and systems work in practice, the venue is designed to inspire visitors to consider new solutions that correspond with the market needs of today and tomorrow, bringing together influential industry thought leaders to help drive evolution.
Facilities at the Centre include a ‘library’, collaborative workspaces and two meeting rooms. Offering open-plan or private space, the meeting rooms are available for meetings, conferences, launches and receptions and can be booked by contacting the Centre directly.
Saint-Gobain has a long history of innovation. It was founded in 1665 to deliver a world first: the production of glass on an industrial scale for the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Today it operates in 64 countries worldwide, invests over £416m globally in R&D and has applied for more than 400 patents in the last financial year.
Speaking at the launch, Mr de Chalendar said: “With this new Innovation Centre, Saint-Gobain opens up to professionals with a global vision of our market to help develop and stimulate research. This Innovation Centre reflects our ambition: to become the reference for sustainable habitat, bringing innovative solutions to meet the main challenges of our time.”
