Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray with Al Bunshaft, managing director of Dassault’s North American operations, and Dassault president and CEO Bernard Charlès at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, marking the opening of a state-of-the-art facility in Waltham, MA (photo credit: Stephanie Neil)

Earlier this month, Dassault Systèmes, a maker of 3D design and simulation software used in manufacturing, energy, and business service industries, announced the opening of its new North American headquarters, based in Waltham.

Over the past year, the French company has been building an energy efficient 27-acre campus that is LEED Gold certified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). It used recycled materials (left from the previous construction site), rooftop HVAC units that use chemical-free electrostatic water treatment instead of chlorine, and the ability to capture rainwater--- which is cleansed and  reused for irrigation or drained into the lower basin of the Charles River.

Inside it is modern and open to encourage a collaborative environment where employees are treated to a gourmet café, fitness center (in which the treadmills are self-powered), and outdoor courtyard complete with Wi-Fi for when people want to work outside. In addition, when everyone moved in, each employee was handed a coffee mug and a reusable cup, as there are no disposable plates, silverware or cups on site. According to the company, the café offers fountain drinks only, which will save nearly 1 million paper cups per year.

                                                 HELPING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

 The Waltham campus consolidates hundreds of Dassault employees who were previously working in Concord, Lowell, and Providence R.I. In addition, about 170 new jobs were added at the campus, and there are plans to expand through 2013. The new N.A. headquarters also serves as a customer briefing center, where companies can experience a virtual reality room that will take them through ancient cities or glacier explorations, for example.

The facility is more than just a building, noted Dassault president and CEO Bernard Charlès during a presentation to press and analysts. “There has a been a lot of attention to details and the way in which we live in order to free our minds to be innovators.”

Dassault created an environment that will hopefully attract the best minds coming out of the Massachusetts schools. It has worked hard over the past few years to form an alliance between its business, local government, and educational institutions.

The synergy, Lt. Governor Tim Murray said, will hopefully grow the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) pipeline in Massachusetts. “Getting more young people excited is critical if we are going to feed [the state’s] diverse growth,” Murray said.

         One of the many coffee centers at the Dassault office encourages employee conversations.

By Stephanie Neil

Stephanie Neil is a journalist. Her business, technology, and human interest stories have appeared in a variety of print and online newspapers and magazines including eWeek, Managing Automation, The Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Huggies Baby Network, South Shore Woman, and The Boston Globe.  She lives on the South Shore with her two kids, two cats, and a dog. Contact info: stephanieneil@comcast.net  or 781-378-1652. Follow her on Twitter @StephanieNeil