Brittany's MICE catalogue will soon be welcoming a "new kid on the block" with big ambitions: the Rennes Métropole Convention Centre is due to open its doors in a few months' time, in 2018. It will offer some 3,000 m² of exhibition space and a capacity of 1,500 people for plenary sessions. According to the project designers, up to 25 committees can be organised simultaneously.
But what will probably set this brand new convention centre apart most of all is the marriage between heritage and modernity. The project led by architects Jean Guervilly and Françoise Mauffret bridges the gap between the new technologies integrated into the building (video projectors, video retransmission and video-conferencing equipment, fibre optic connection) and the heritage of a historic monument. The Rennes Métropole Convention Centre is preparing to set up shop in the Couvent des Jacobins, a listed 14th-century building in the heart of the city centre.
From the outset, the project's designers decided to anchor the building in its time, by making it possible to follow the progress of the work in real time on a dedicated blog. And what about the human element? Event organisers will have access to a single point of contact and a team dedicated to each project, able to respond to requests for availability in less than 24 hours. All of this is just 90 minutes from Paris thanks to the high-speed line (LGV), which should enable the Rennes Métropole Convention Centre to look beyond the local area, attracting national and even international events.
