The inauguration ceremony of the Maison du Handball took place on 9 January in the presence of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, Mr Joël Deplanque, President of the french federation of handball, Mrs Valerie Pécresse, President of the Ile-de-France region, Mr Christian Seng, Chairman of the Val de Marne department, Mr Laurent Cathala, Mayor of Créteil and President of Grand Partis Sud-Est Avenir, and Mr Philippe Content, Deputy Director General of Eiffage Construction.
After more than two years of work, Eiffage Construction delivered the Maison du Handball o the French Handball Federation last September. It is with great pride that the teams of Eiffage Construction Equipements have witnessed the inauguration of this operation, a true showcase of handball at the national and international level.
The second largest collective sport in the country, handball is the sport for which France is the most famous. In fact, the men’s handball team is six times world champion and twice Olympic champion, it is the most titrated handball selection of all time! The so-called “experts” generation is even considered the most talented in the history of international handball.
On the women’s handball team’s side, the list is equally impressive as they have won the world championship twice and last December, the European championship 2018 allows them to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The creation of this Handball House aims to energize professional but also amateur actions, strengthen partnerships with companies that participate in the development of national handball and create a friendly and functional place for all actors in the region.
Located very close from Duvauchelle Stadium in Créteil, the complex covers 14,000 m² of land and 20,000 m² of sport field. The new equipment is divided into 3 activity hubs:
- A sporting pole: a competition field of 500 places, a training ground, 9 locker rooms and 500 m² of bodybuilding and balneotherapy area
- An accommodation pole of 72 rooms
- An administrative pole comprising the offices of the French Federation and handball and the league Ile-de-France, reception spaces, congresses and seminars, restaurants, and health area
Imagined by architect Charles Delamy in collaboration with the firm Sémon-Rapaport, respect for the environment was the key word in the construction of the House of Handball with an energy consumption of less than 10% than the 2012 thermal regulations, the use of eco-materials such as hemp, flax or cotton, or the creation of a vegetated roof. The building also benefits from an alternative management of stormwater through infiltration of stormwater by watersheds and a rain garden, an alternative technique for managing stormwater. Finally, 500 trees and plants have been planted inside this new equipment.