Mainland China
Delivering a turnkey workplace transformation for Paul Hastings
Contact
SM
Shane Ma
Senior Project Manager
Project overview
How do you balance a fast-tracked schedule without compromising quality?
French pharmaceutical leader Sanofi has started a new chapter in Southwestern China with its Sanofi Chengdu Hub, a more than 12,600 sqm workplace spread across six floors, complete with internal feature staircases and a multi-zone layout designed for collaboration.
Designed to consolidate teams and serve as a strategic hub for Sanofi's operations in the region, the facility brings together a wide range of business functions within a single, collaborative workplace. Our team delivered full construction and project management services across the entire project lifecycle, from January 2025 through to completion in June 2026.
Highlights
project story
Managing scale, speed and sustainability
Fitting out more than 12,600 sqm across six floors in six months was a challenge, but doing it with an international design team, a compressed timeline that runs through Chinese New Year and a dual Platinum sustainability target raised the difficulty.
Sanofi prioritised sustainability, targeting dual LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certification. This meant every decision on materials, indoor air quality and construction method had to support that goal.
Coordinating more than 20 vendors across multiple workstreams meant aligning a large number of moving parts at exactly the right time. The project's complex local certification requirements also demanded close control over materials and construction methods throughout delivery, leaving little room for delays or rework. Keeping the progect on track required the team to identify issues early, maintain clear communication and ensure all parties were working from the same information.
Our team managed the project end to end. This included technical due diligence at the outset, ongoing design management to keep the build aligned with the vision and tender and procurement management to bring the right vendors on board. From there, we provided construction management services for the fit-out delivery.
Strengthening Chengdu's position as a global innovation hub
The new Chengdu centre represents a significant investment in the city's growing role as a destination for innovation, digital capability and global business operations. By bringing together expertise in technology, data analytics and AI, the hub will support Sanofi's ongoing transformation, improve operational efficiency and accelerate decision-making across its global operations.
The centre will support more than 600 high-value local roles by the end of 2026 across areas including R&D, digital and business operations. As part of a connected global network spanning India, Hungary, Malaysia, Colombia and Spain, it will strengthen international collaboration and enable the exchange of expertise across markets, further enhancing Chengdu's position within the global innovation landscape.
Beyond its role as a strategic business hub, the investment contributes to the continued growth of Chengdu's innovation ecosystem. By attracting top talent, creating high-value employment opportunities and supporting the development of digital and life sciences capabilities, the project delivers long-term benefits for the local economy and reinforces the region's ambition to be recognised as a leading global centre for innovation and sustainable growth.
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