Looking down onto the walkway, then tunnel, that leads to the area on the ITER platform where the Control Room will be located in a few years. Photo: ITER Organization
Windows and a glass ceiling have been installed on the footbridge that links the ITER offices to the Control Room on the platform. Photo: ITER Organization
On the inside, workers are installing some 12,000 square metres of dividing walls to shape out the offices. On the outside, work continues on the "exterior veil." Photo: ITER Organization
The top three levels of ITER Headquarters have front-row seats to the work on the platform. Beginning next fall, the building will be occupied. Photo: ITER Organization
This 33-metre metal footbridge will link ITER Headquarters to the scientific facilities on the platform, by way of an underground tunnel. Photo: AIF.AM
Vertical sunshades are positioned by crane and bolted into place along the northwest façade of the ITER Headquarters building. When the work is finished, the shades will create 14-metre-tall vertical lines. Photo: AIF.AM
On the top left of the building, work begins to install the exterior venetian blinds that will protect the offices from Provence's 300 days of strong sunlight per year. Photo: ITER Organization
The top floors of the Headquarters building will have an unparalleled view of the 39 buildings and facilities that make up the ITER fusion laboratory. Photo: ITER Organization
Occupying the first floor of the building, the cafeteria spans its entire width from east to west. The doors visible in this photograph exit to an outside terrace and stairs down to a grassy area. Photo: ITER Organization
The bright and spacious entry hall of the ITER Headquarters building faces the platform. Elevators heading from this area to the upper floors have already been installed. Photo: ITER Organization
A 33-metre-long metal footbridge will connect Headquarters to this tunnel in the platform, which will lead to the ITER Control Room. Photo: ITER Organization
Following the installation of the last glass windows in November, the stage is set for the immense vertical slats that will adorn the northern facade of ITER Headquarters. Over 3,000 of these slats will create an external veil 14 m high and 180 m long. Photo: ITER Organization
Fresh October snow in the pre-Alps is visible from the ITER platform on a clear day. Approximately 250 km beyond the ITER Headquarters are the Mont Pelvoux (far left, 3,946 m) and the Barre des Écrins (left, 4,102 m). Photo: ITER Organization
The 500-kilo glass window blocks are slid into position one after another following a patented installation system developed for the ITER Headquarters project. Up to 50 frames can be slid into place per day. Photo: AIF
Work on the top floor of the ITER Headquarters nears completion in September 2011. The building will have a ground level plus five floors—a total of six levels in all. Photo: ITER Organization
The ITER Headquarters was designed by local architects Rudy Ricciotti and Laurent Bonhomme, in association with SNC-Lavalin and Cap-Ingelec. Construction began one year ago in October 2010. Photo: Altivue/ ITER Organization
The future ITER Headquarters, the Site Access Control Building (in the foreground) and the Medical Centre and research facility access building (behind the Headquarters) are seen from the north. Photo: Altivue/ITER Organization
The interesting shapes of the ITER Site Access Control Building seen from the south side. The architectural motifs resemble those of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur International School situated in Manosque, conceived by the same architect. Photo: AIF
Portable framework tables are used to accelerate the pouring of concrete floor on the third level of the ITER Headquarters. Twenty-four of these wooden framework tables are placed side by side, allowing nearly 200 square metres of floor space to be poured every day. Photo: AIF
Occupying the smallest "footprint" in the landscape
The long, tall ITER Headquarters building was conceived by the architects to occupy a limited amount of ground space, leaving most of the wooded parcel ... wooded. Photo: AIF
Architectonic concrete is used to give structural strength to the Site Access Control Building, whose creative geometric openings are airy and aesthetic. Photo: AIF
Located near the ITER Headquarters the Site Access Control Building, equipped with a 50-person conference room, will be accessible by the public. Photo: AIF
The Headquarters worksite in May 2011. For thin constructions, ultra high performance fibrous concrete is used. Incorporating steel fibres, this self-compacting concrete has exceptional durability and extremely high compression resistance: between 130 and 250 MPa (Mega Pascal) in normal conditions. The high resistance is accompanied by a very high density and almost zero permeability of water, oxygen or chloride ion diffusion. Photo: AIF
Twenty-six different types of concrete will be used for the construction of the ITER Headquarters—26 different "formulas" depending final use (posts, beams, floors, external walls ...) and taking into account the different resistance levels, colours, plasticity, setting speeds, and aggregate size. Photo: AIF
To help regulate the temperature inside the building, the southeast facade will be equipped with Venetian blinds to adjust the amount of incoming light room by room. Photo: AIF
40 people were involved in the construction of the first stage of the ITER Headquarters (shell). This number will progressively increase to 220 between April and September 2011. Photo: AIF
In addition to the 20,500 square-metre ITER Headquarters, a small building is planned to welcome the public and a second to manage site access and house medical services. Photo: AIF
The 180 metre-long, five-storey ITER Headquarters will provide office space for about 500 employees, a cafeteria, an amphitheatre with 500 seats, and a boardroom. Photo: AIF
A footbridge will link the first floor of the Headquarters to the ITER Control Room which will be located one level below the project construction platform. The thirty-metre-long footbridge will become a tunnel when it reaches the platform, providing direct pedestrian access to the research facilities. Photo: Altivue/AIF
Work begins on the first floor of the ITER Headquarters building in October 2010 and progresses quickly at the rate of twelve linear metres per day. Photo: AIF
Work on the foundations of the ITER Headquarters building is launched in October 2010. The tall building will be solidly anchored five metres deep in the ground. Photo: AIF
ITER Headquarters will be situated here, close to—but down from—the ITER platform
Just past the trees, nestled up against the bend in the ITER platform, a patch of land has been cleared for the construction of the permanent ITER Headquarters. Photo: Altivue/AIF
An artist's view of the future ITER Headquarters. Sanitary water for the building will be heated by approximately 80 square metres of solar panels. Photo: Ricciotti
Work begins in September 2010 on the future ITER Headquarters, which will be situated on a six-hectare wooded parcel to the west of the ITER platform. Photo: Ricciotti
"Undulating vertical slats." This is the way the architect describes the most prominent visual feature of the Headquarters building. These sunshades will provide protection from the sun on the northwest facade of the building and reduce the need for cooling within. Made of highly resistant fibre concrete, the 3,104 sunshades will also provide structural strength. Photo: Ricciotti
The underground auditorium of the ITER Headquarters will have a "green roof"—a natural way to regulate the temperature in the building. Photo: Ricciotti
Two- to three-storey interior patios—spaced evenly along the central walkways of the building and planted with vegetation—will generate ventilation, let in natural light, and provide a convivial setting for common areas. Photo: Ricciotti