A both modern and historic Campus
History: 18th–21st century
In 1781, Jacques Berthault gathered multiple plots of land in an estate where he created a picturesque garden, which was the fashion at the time. He erected several buildings there—an Hermitage, a fisherman’s bungalow, and an Obelisk—and diverted the nearby river to create a pond, which remains at the center of the park today.
In 1878, Baron James de Rothschild acquired the property and entrusted the construction of the château des Fontaines to his own architect, Félix Langlais.
The château’s design was ultra-contemporary for that period. The building was constructed with a metallic framework, still evident in the attic, bearing witness to a strong commitment to innovation that remains at Capgemini Les Fontaines Campus today!
Passing away in 1881, the Baron would not live to see the work completed 10 years later with the construction of the Ferme Normande (Normandy Farmhouse) under the direction of his wife, “Baronness James.” She lived on the domain until the early 1930’s and contributed to make it a place to share and exchange knowledge and arts.
After the death of her son, Henri de Rothschild, in 1946, the Jesuits became the owners of the estate and made it their cultural center that contained with a huge library, rich of some 500 000 documents, some of them rare and precious .
In 1998, the Jesuits were no longer able to afford the maintenance of the domain and sold it to the Capgemini Group. The 500 000 documents of the library were relocated to the Great Library in Lyon.
By opening its international campus at Les Fontaines, the Capgemini Group remained loyal to the vocation of the property: be a place of innovation, exchange and of knowledge sharing.
A Château reflecting many architectural influences
The Château marries multiple architectural styles while respecting the regional influence—the Rothschild family wanted it to express the European universality of its dynasty:
- The period of Henri IV in the main façade, in the manner of Place des Vosges in Paris,
- The neo-gothic in the cylindrical turrets,
- An inspiration from the Dutch and British Northern Renaissance, seen in the central lodge.
- An Eiffel metallic framework, with back in the 19th century is a true evidence of modernity and innovation.