Siège Social Groupama, Paris [FR]

EeStairs + Kardham Architecture

This monumental helical staircase and passerelle occupy the refurbished Astorg headquarters of Groupama in central Paris. The late-1950s building, originally by Ernest Couture, has been reworked by Kardham Architecture as a low-carbon, user-focused renewal of a historic corporate address.

Within this existing structure, the 4.29-metre-high stair, 5 metres in diameter, had to arrive with the precision of a made-to-measure instrument. As access narrowed during construction, EeStairs split the primary steel into sequenced sections, installing the passerelle and upper stair first with a compact spider crane. Fixings at the base were set out between underfloor-heating runs, allowing local modifications without compromising the structure.

The stair’s authority comes from restraint: thin painted steel forms the outer balustrade and stringer, French oak brings warmth to the inner guard and handrail, and Combe Brune natural stone relates the treads to the existing floor. Beneath, EeSoffit™ gives the soffit a stable, almost seamless skin, so the staircase reads as one continuous, beautifully controlled gesture.