The major companies based in the La Défense district have only a few months to wait before they find a convention and exhibition centre as close as possible to their offices, at the Cnit. This is where they used to hold their annual conventions and New Year's presentations. Closed since June 2015, the space housed in the lower levels of this emblematic building with its brutalist architecture will reopen next September. But already, Viparis prepares to reopen next September by showing event agencies and VIP clients around a site that is still under construction, but is in the process of being radically transformed: the future "CNIT Forest".
Basically, nothing has fundamentally changed since 2015, with the structure of the centre remaining the same with the exception of the 10,000 m2disappeared to be included in the RER Eole project scheduled for launch in 2024. A blessing in disguise, since in return the business district's accessibility will be enhanced by this line linking La Défense directly to Saint-Lazare, Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est stations.
While nothing has changed completely, everything has changed in terms of form, with a dreamlike setting created by architect Nicolas Adam and illustrator François Schuiten, a leading exponent of futuristic urbanity. A duo who gave birth to a kind of underground forest dotted with digital trees whose first light buds - LEDs, of course, to personalise events as you wish - are now starting to appear in the Baobab space.
The names of the conference centre's meeting rooms, auditoriums and reception areas evoke majestic trees and deep forests. The Amazon Hall welcomes visitors with two reception desks and two cloakrooms. The special feature of the CNIT Forest is its ability to host two events at the same timeThe building is symmetrical, with meeting rooms on either side of the hall, six on the left - the Acacias - and seven on the right - the Hawthorns. And so on.
In total, the CNIT Forest will offer organisers 20,000 m² of modular space on four levels, including 20 meeting rooms, 2 lecture theatres and 2 multi-purpose areasAll equipped with state-of-the-art technology. For a double event, the larger of the two will be able to use the Sequoia auditorium (1175 seats) and the Baobab space (2859 m²) for catering and exhibitions. At the same time, the other event will take place in the Epicea amphitheatre (740 seats), with the reception area reserved for the Dragonnier space (2,166 m²).
The CNIT Forest can accommodate more than 10,000 people, including staff, it can also be privatised for large-scale eventsThe Baobab space can be used for cocktails or dinners. The Baobab space can be used for cocktails or dinners, while the Dragonnier space can be used for conferences or subdivided into sub-committee rooms.
With this new string to its bow right in the heart of Europe's largest business district, Viparis target congresses and major corporate eventsThe 5,000 m2 can also be used for exhibitions. In this context, its meeting spaces are not intended to be marketed outside the framework of these meetings, or only on an exceptional, one-off basis. Even before it opens at the end of next summer, CNIT Forest's order book already includes around ten events, the first of which will take place in October, the 129e Congress of the French Society of Otolaryngology.
