PROJECTS FRENCH SENATE STAFF DINING

eeing the bright, spacious self-service canteen and dining rooms of the French Senate’s administrative staff now, it’s hard to imagine how the bustling Sactivity could have been contained in a smaller, underground space. At lunchtime, the canteen comes alive with diners – ranging from police and firefighters, to the large administrative staff. The dining rooms – which were formerly office spaces and, even further back in history, the Senate’s stables – have also been transformed to be both Bigger, functional and comfortable. An extension into the building’s The numbers alone were not courtyard, with a full wall of glass, brings a challenging… Creating the Senate’s lot of natural light to the space and reduces new kitchen and dining rooms over crowding. A coffee area with bar tables completes the dining space and allows three levels, spanning different brighter, people to linger over the last moments of buildings, complicated things their lunch break while cleverly ensuring that dining tables are turned over at an creating new facilities in various locations appropriate pace. within the Senate’s buildings. After deciding on the location, the concept grew. A growing project Daveine knew he needed to create a better Having long outgrown the former kitchen kitchen capable of making and serving up and dining area, the Senate asked Denis to 700 meals daily. The numbers alone After significant renovations, Daveine FCSI of ALMA Consulting to were not challenging for Daveine – in undertake feasibility studies looking at France, self-service lunch canteens remain the new self-service canteen at renovating their current offerings and commonplace in schools and many large organisations – but creating the Senate’s the French Senate has opened new kitchen and dining rooms over three with 220 seats and the capacity to levels, spanning different buildings, complicated things slightly. serve up to 700 meals per service. ALMA Consulting worked with architects Architecture Patrick Mauger Victoria Brownlee speaks to and building engineering company, OTE Ingénierie, due to the complexity of the Denis Daveine FCSI about the project. “We needed to create staircases, conception, design and delivery service lifts and do a lot of structural work, include breaking down walls. Then of this multi-building project there were the technical requirements >

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– ventilation, electricity and plumbing correct pathways so that everything runs – in a building that wasn’t designed to smoothly,” says Daveine. accommodate them,” Daveine explains. Just off the ground floor dining room As the project evolved, plans changed is the dishwashing room. The space – to increase the size of the dining area, large, clean and relatively quiet – receives extending it into the courtyard. The diners’ trays via a conveyor belt, where former outdoor green space then had to staff members sort any waste before dishes be reworked, all while avoiding an oven are put through the dishwasher. The dating back to the Roman era that still surprising calmness of this room can be stands in the courtyard. “The project was attributed to the dishwasher itself, which bigger than we initially planned, more Daveine explains uses a heat pump to expensive, and took longer to complete,” collect the hot air from the dish drying and Daveine says. uses it to preheat the water for washing, For the Senate’s restaurant manager, vastly improving the ambient temperature Jean-Christophe Trubert, one of the most in the room. “We try to find ways to make important parts of the project conception “Our work is first and foremost to working in each area of the kitchen as lifts, one for prepared food that has come was the design of the self-service food find the correct pathways so that pleasant as possible,” he says. out of the kitchen, and one for everything zones. Trubert wanted something more everything runs smoothly… We try The store rooms, cool rooms and else. “We don’t want people to have to modern than the traditional self-service kitchens are all located over two levels waste time thinking about things like lines. “With ALMA Consulting, we wanted to make working in each area of the underground, accessible via a staff hygiene pathways,” explains Daveine. to have these different collection zones… kitchen as pleasant as possible” staircase and two clearly labelled service Throughout the kitchens and we didn’t want diners arriving with trays dishwashing rooms, a non-slip granulated lining up one after another like in the old alongside the self-service zones. A large resin floor – which also curves up to form diners and canteens,” he explains. Instead, array of main courses is on display, both the skirting boards – has been used, which people can move around freely, choosing on example plates and on large TV screens Daveine says is both easier to clean and from a wide variety of entrées, cheeses above the service area, helping to speed quieter than something like tiling. “At and desserts, or creating their own salad, up selection and reduce queuing. Mains ALMA Consulting, we often do projects before selecting their main course. are served by kitchen staff, which allows without collaborators, so we’re well versed The hot-food service counter sits diners to personalise their orders – for in the different elements that make up a example, a smaller serving, no meat or no kitchen, from ventilation to flooring.” QUICK DETAILS sauce – which both reduces food waste Size: 1,400 sq m (plus 645 sq m and improves the dining experience. Thinking sustainably courtyard and garden) Diners then collect bread and cutlery Along with the removal of plastic water Cost: €6.3m (excluding tax) before paying and heading to the adjoining bottles and non-biodegradable takeaway dining rooms, which are fitted with 220 boxes, the Senate’s canteen and kitchen TIMELINE seats, spanning multiple areas. actively look for ways to improve 2015–2016: feasibility studies sustainability. They have signed up to a 2017–2018: project implementation All the elements programme that sees their used coffee Where the ALMA Consulting team really grounds being reused to help grow oyster THE KEY TEAM came into its own on this project was in mushrooms (see box on p64). ALMA Consulting Left to right from above: extended into the courtyard; the kitchen fit-out and design, especially There is also an emphasis on local Architecture Patrick Mauger One of the Senate's historic an artist's impression of rooms; Denis Daveine FCSI; the new extension with its considering the complicated floor plans. produce where possible. Trubert OTE Ingénierie the dining room was floor-to-ceiling windows “Our work is first and foremost to find the estimates that 99% of their suppliers >

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are based in France, keeping food miles although people are starting to do it a down. These efforts are perhaps best little,” explains Trubert. demonstrated by the honey being served, To cater to the small percentage of which is collected from beehives located people who do require a takeaway lunch, within the Luxembourg Gardens just a small section of shelving before the cash across the road. registers is stocked with to-go items such Furthermore, the focus on dining-in as club sandwiches and biodegradable reduces the amount of packaging and boxes that can be filled at the self-service waste associated with takeaway lunches. counters. “We voluntarily don’t multiply “The takeaway offerings are recent, we our take-away offerings, because the only launched them a year ago, and today, majority of clients still choose to create they only account for 4-5% of meals. The their own salad or select their own hot French like sitting down to eat. Anglo- meal,” says Trubert. SUSTAINABILITY STEPS: Saxons like standing up to eat and eating GROWING MUSHROOMS in the street, but that’s not our culture, Final results FROM COFFEE GROUNDS In a project like this, success can be viewed in the day-to-day running of both the Jean-Christophe Trubert, Senate kitchen and the dining room. Smooth restaurant manager, entered into processes result in efficient service and a circular-economy partnership contented diners. According to Daveine, with organic waste transformation “People are a lot happier now. Before association, UpCycle. UpCycle the dining room was underground. It collects around 60 to 70 kg of the was dark and poorly organised. Now, we canteen’s used coffee grounds per have somewhere that works better for week. These grounds are then used distribution, and that is more comfortable. to grow oyster mushrooms for the Main picture top: Diners can It’s so much better, in fact, that certain Senate’s kitchen, which Trubert move around freely to select their meals. Above: The room senators come to eat here rather than in claims are of excellent quality.

where the Senate sits their own dining room.” © SÉNAT SÉNAT"

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