Why thecamp?
What is thecamp?
– An international campus, with a mission to inspire, transform and engage the leaders of today and tomorrow
– An interdisciplinary, intercultural and intergenerational place
– A “third-place”, where private and public managers, startups, students and experts will live a unique experience for a few days, a few weeks or a few months
– A prospective and innovation catalyzer, a place for project development and experimentation in order to invent the cities of tomorrow
– A living place with accommodation for 250 residents and 2 restaurants
– A private/public initiative with a 80M€ budget
– Located in Aix-en-Provence, with 130,000 sqft of buildings nestling within 17 ac of nature, 5 minutes from a high-speed train station (TGV) and 15 minutes from Marseille Provence Airport
– Due to open fall 2017
Discussion with the Founder
Frédéric Chevalier, why are you creating thecamp?
“I believe that individually and collectively we have three responsibilities.
As an entrepreneur, who has acquired an investment capacity, I feel I have a personal responsibility to create thecamp here, in this area, while casting a long vision into the future, towards the world that we wish to build, where we would like to live. I’m investing all my vision and experience as an entrepreneur for the benefit of this project because I believe it is fundamentally needed. And because it is needed, I want to make it magnificent.”
What architecture for thecamp?
Thecamp couldn’t flourish in an ordinary location. The campus had to be embodied in a one-of-a-kind architectural project, an exemplary project in terms of aesthetics, innovation, environmental performance and landscape integration. The architect Corinne Vezzoni designed thecamp as a concept location, an “Object-World” like a UFO which has landed in Provence, powerfully meeting the campus’ ambitions.
The canvas covering the central hub is perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean climate, it lets light through and protects against the elements. The Inside/Outside concept encourages meetings and interaction, while maintaining a connection with nature.
Thecamp: management and organization
Orientation Council
President: Jean-Paul Bailly, also Honorary President of Groupe La Poste.
This committee’s role is to advise and define the strategy and ambitions of thecamp by making proposals and recommendations. It is also responsible for overseeing the principles for thecamp over the long term, providing information, future thinking, monitoring and vigilance. It contributes to outreach activities and promotion and will be established over the next few months with a membership of international personalities from diverse backgrounds.
Management Team
President: Frédéric Chevalier, also President and Founder of Groupe HighCo.
Members: François Creton, Lionel Minassian, Thomas Houdaille, Antoine Meunier, Bernard Matyjasik and Walter Baets.
Defines strategy and resources, takes action to develop and coordinate thecamp ecosystem. Reports to the Orientation Council and coordinates the Steering Committee.
Steering Committee
Membership formed from the private and public sector founding partners, as well as the associated partners (experiment partners, start-ups, sector clusters). This committee has a role in the strategic management of thecamp. It is responsible for setting up thematic working groups related to the activities of the ecosystem, in order to make operational recommendations to be acted upon by the Management Team.
The partners
Thecamp is an innovation ecosystem that is unique in Europe. It is also a collective general interest project we wish to share. Its success will be underpinned by private and public founding partners joining us on this journey to fulfil this unique ambition, namely to become a place dedicated to the digital transformation and construction of tomorrow’s cities, a creative place devoted to innovation and experimentation, and a place which inspires an entrepreneurial attitude.
Private sector founding partners
Public sector founding partners
Building program partners
Experimentation partners
Press
