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Since its foundation in 1964, IÉSEG has always considered its real estate strategy as a structuring element for its educational strategy. It has always made its real estate decisions with the aim of providing the best learning experience to its students. Today, IÉSEG has 2 campuses, one in Lille and the other in Paris – La Défense, with a total of 50,000 m² of flexible, functional space, equipped with the latest technologies to offer immersive teaching solutions. This ergonomic space also enables connections between students from all programs, partner companies and graduates.

Think you know everything about the history of IÉSEG’s buildings? Here’s a quick tour to find out… from A to… V!

Origins of the School campuses: 200 m² of premises in La Catho!

From its foundation in 1964 until 1981, IÉSEG was housed within the Université Catholique de Lille, which allocated the School 200 m² of premises. IÉSEG’s first official address was 1, rue François Baës. An address that no longer exists! In 1986, the street was renamed “rue Norbert Segard” and inaugurated by the former Mayor of Lille, Pierre Mauroy.

IÉSEG remained in the Université Catholique de Lille buildings for over 15 years.  In 1981, when it welcomed 177 students, the School rented its first building, at 67 boulevard Vauban. The aim of the School’s Management Board was already to erect the first building of its own, one that could be adapted to the School’s needs in terms of development and learning experience.

This first building – Building A – located at 3 rue de la Digue, will thus be built… in place of an old outdoor swimming pool!

Lille: the historic campus, from Building A to Building F… and a bunker!

In 1990, IÉSEG laid the foundation stone for its first building, which is now 100% its own: Building A. This building, called the “Paquebot” (cruise ship) because of its shape, was built on the site of the former Art Deco-style swimming pool of the City of Lille, whose former entrance still remains today in the school’s Building C.

Work progressed rapidly, and IÉSEG moved into this 3,000 m² building in 1992. The School immediately decided to extend the building in order to pursue its development. Planned as early as 1993, the construction of Building B was launched at the end of the 1990s. It was inaugurated in 2003 by the French Minister of the Civil Service at the time, Jean-Paul Delevoye.

Building B was built in a very distinctive, industrial style (using raw concrete, metal cladding, etc.) to keep costs under control. Above all, Building B was designed to optimize space as much as possible, with a large amphitheater, a hyper-modular space that can be used for all kinds of needs (from mid-term exams to corporate cocktail parties), a large green terrace, very large and bright computer rooms, a beautiful room dedicated to the Executive Committee, and above all, a great mix of rooms of different sizes.

At the time, this was a truly innovative building. Even the basement was designed to maximize its use: of course, it is a parking lot for IÉSEG staff, but there are also ventilation systems, toilets and emergency exits. The students back then still remember the parties that were held there!

This complex of buildings (buildings A, B and C), the historic center of the IÉSEG campus, will be completely renovated and expanded as part of the Village project, launched in 2015. To create this IÉSEG Village in the heart of the city, the School completed the purchase of the various plots of land to create a coherent 12,000 m² complex, combining multifunctional rooms, collaborative spaces, green areas, interior gardens and large open patios. A building, notably dedicated to community life (Building D), was also constructed on this occasion.

In the meantime, from 2007 onwards, IÉSEG (1,400 students at the time) expanded on the rue Solférino and rue Desmazières sides. The School bought two former houses, a former office building belonging to a social landlord and a former parking lot, and merged the whole to create the E – F buildings, operated in their current configuration from 2015. It was during this work that IÉSEG discovered… a German bunker, dating from World War 2. A bunker that had to be demolished in order to bring all the buildings together into a coherent entity – and that wasn’t easy!

The latest building to be constructed and equipped is the Vauban building (Building V), with a total surface area of 12,000 m². Ideally located (at the entrance to boulevard Vauban, giving the School excellent visibility on this busy boulevard, close to the other School buildings and the Citadelle of Lille, the city’s green lung). The new facility will complement IÉSEG’s existing buildings and consolidate its historical roots in the Lille metropolis, while also being part of a sustainable approach designed to encourage the development of urban biodiversity. Discover the building here!

Paris – La Défense: from G for Grande Arche to P for Promenade… and, for a while, the highest campus in the Paris region!

2009 was one of the most important dates in the School’s history: that year, IÉSEG settled in La Défense, in the Socle de la Grande Arche, a 6,000 m² building it had purchased a few months earlier. This new building, known as Building G, marks the opening of IÉSEG’s Paris campus, enabling it to strengthen its appeal to students and companies alike, and speed up the internationalization of its programs.

IÉSEG has completely redesigned this space, which was previously an information and exhibition center about Europe. Drawing inspiration from what had been done in Lille, the teams optimized the space to integrate a library, lecture theaters, modular rooms, computer rooms and classrooms of various sizes to meet the teaching objectives of the time.

The Grande Arche’s reputation came to the fore, and the space soon became too small to accommodate the French and international students who wanted to study there. IÉSEG then rented several floors in different towers at La Défense, before finally being able to purchase the 8,000 m² Promenade building in 2017. At that time, the School had more than 4,000 students. This building is part of a major real estate project to revitalize this part of the La Défense district, including the development of the Promenade running from the Grande Arche to the Terrasses de Nanterre, the Paris-La Défense Arena.

In 2023, the IÉSEG campus in the Paris region is finally getting a new building: Les Collines de l’Arche, with a surface area of 6,000 m² in the immediate vicinity of the School’s other buildings. Equipped with numerous modular classrooms seating from 25 to 65, collaborative work, co-working and social spaces, Les Collines de l’Arche brings together Master’s level students, participants in continuing education courses, incubates and graduates, stimulating exchanges and mutual enrichment. It is also home to a spacious Career Center, the Incubator, Executive Education and IÉSEG Network, the graduates’ association.