Sophia 2040 - Sophia-Antipolis (2024)

The historic centre of Sophia Antipolis, Place Sophie Laffitte was once the iconic location of cross-fertilisation. Distinctively 1970s in style, the buildings require total refurbishment, in line with environmental standards.

Completing this project while respecting the technology park’s values of openness and innovation will enable the square to recover all of its former glory.

The ECOTONE project (Antibes) is a transition zone between the urban area and the Sophia Antipolis technology park. A futuristic 40,000m² tertiary property development will come to life, providing a 21st century Ecological Campus and a new Mecca for innovation, training and a concentration of talent and business.

The project is spearheaded by the Compagnie de Phalsbourg and Xavier Niel, while the architectural project is managed by Jean Nouvel (Ateliers Jean Nouvel), OXO Architectes and AAFB. Delivery is planned for 2022.

The new meeting point of economic initiatives and an iconic location in Sophia Antipolis, the Innovation Hub will bring together all the key partners in entrepreneurialism and innovation in the same building: incubators, competitiveness hubs, network coordinators for the Riviera’s digital players, the Sophia Antipolis Foundation, etc.

The 9,000m² surface area will host start-ups, SMEs and large companies, all sharing the area. With offices, meeting rooms and activity halls, this third place will focus on conviviality in order to marshal energies and encourage the emergence of collaborative projects.

The bus-tram (line A) offers greater flexibility for getting around Sophia Antipolis and thus consolidates the technology park’s appeal.

It complements the existing “Express 230”, the urban transport route connecting Nice to Sophia Antipolis, with buses offering 50% more capacity than standard vehicles.

The service started running in the 1st quarter of 2020 and this top-class bus runs on designated lanes, travelling to Sophia Antipolis from Antibes from 6am to midnight every 6 minutes during rush hour. The bus-tram journey, which can carry up to 110 passengers, will eventually take 30 minutes to travel from the interchange in Antibes to the Saint-Philippe neighbourhood.

Sophia Antipolis is making it easier to get around the technology park by drawing on its own expertise: innovation. After initial trials using a self-driving shuttle, CASA is in the process of launching a second trial operated by IFSTTAR to transport workers over the “final kilometre” of their journey.

A short hop service, operated by two Navya shuttles, will depart from the BHNS station transporting employees and visitors to several private companies, and potentially enabling 180 people to travel per hour.

This project follows Sophia Antipolis’ momentum for intelligent vehicles, crystallised around theSmart Vehicle Côte d’Azur initiativeand using the local start-up, Instant System for the user interface and mobility and guidance assistance for hailing the shuttle.

To meet the needs of partners in Sophia Antipolis’ intelligent vehicle sector, CASA decided to invest in the creation of a driving track, placed at their disposal.

A valuable service for companies and designed together with them, the life-size testing area is one of the first steps in making Sophia Antipolis an open-air testing ground for intelligent vehicles.

Very much aware of its topography and eager to adopt a field approach to identify users’ real needs, CASA has launched an electric bike plan with the Association “Vélo Sophia 06” and various companies.

Concentrating on the most impactful stretches and the most awaited initiatives (secure lockers, bike parking in public areas, infrastructure with crossing areas, CASA by bike digital map, etc.), CASA selected a cycling plan which enables cyclists to cover long distances while overcoming the physical effort imposed by its topography.

With the biotech incubator project, the territory is structuring and consolidating the biotechnology innovation chain in order to identify, support and help set up new companies and start-ups. They require appropriate building infrastructure and efficient services and technological platforms.

This project will also encourage the emergence of entrepreneurial projects from laboratories (spin-offs) while consolidating the health/digital association and the prominence of Artificial intelligence.

The SABLES project (Sophia Antipolis Biotechnologies for the Environment and Health) intends to establish Sophia Antipolis as a major European site for Biotechnologies associated with health and eco-innovation. It wishes to make significant investment in equipment both for human health, (IPMC), for food and for the eco-responsible agri-food sector (INRAE).

This investment will enable the CNRS and INRAE to develop predictive models, in partnership with Inria, I3S and LIAD and to open these platforms to companies, start-ups and businesses in public and private incubators in the Sophia Antipolis territory.

The SophiaTech2.0 project intends to gradually build a Digital Systems Institute serving mankind, consolidating design and testing platforms for research laboratories and accessible to SMEs to increase the number of public and private points of cooperation.

These platforms include:

> RANDOM for research on antennae, communicating objects, radar systems and sensors (anechoic chamber)

> PLATON for designing and testing future networks, as well as designing communicating objects (IoT)

> UBIQUARIUM covering the Internet of Objects (IoT) and Big Data

> VEHICLES dedicated to research and development on applications surrounding autonomous and connected vehicles.

Thanks to this distributed and shared computing infrastructure, the calculation hub for storage and visualisation, Inria and the Mines Paritech are consolidating their exclusive positioning into global basic research.

Indeed, this infrastructure enables all academic stakeholders to strengthen the computerised resources of their basic and applied research while interacting with the local socio-economic environment.

Opened by Patrick Mouratoglou in July 2016, the Mouratoglou Academy sports complex, located in the heart of Sophia Antipolis, extends over 10 hectares and includes 34 clay and resin tennis courts, 2 swimming pools, 4 padel courts, fitness and weight training rooms and an international tennis-study campus with boarding facilities, making it the 2^ndlargest tennis centre worldwide.

The Diagana campus follows in the footsteps of this initial launch, consolidating the development of the Sportech sector. It is a source of innovation thanks to its combination of medical research, prevention activities and supervised sports practice. The campus offers multi-functional sports equipment adapted for the highest level of athletics and other sports (Nordic walking and triathlon), combining medical research in the areas dedicated to sport.

Finally, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga opened the All in Academy in Villeneuve-Loubet. This tennis and high-level studies academy strives for performance and excellence through expert coaching for a tailored approach to tennis, and personalised academic and pedagogical support.

With offices, restaurants and services, CENTRIUM is an ambitious real estate programme which responds to new developments in work and mobility.

The building offers a high level of environmental quality, living and working spaces boasting very high level services and working comfort for employees of the technology park.

It is also an environmentally-friendly programme — around one hundred trees will be planted, the building will run on photovoltaic energy and the site will boast the BREEAM VERY GOOD rating.