Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Eiffel Aerodynamic Laboratory, located at 67 rue Boileau in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, was built in 1912 by Gustave Eiffel to replace its first wind tunnel in the Champ-de-Mars. Equipped with an air vein of 22 metres in diameter up to 30 m/s, it was initially used to study aircraft wing profiles. This metal hangar, with a sober design, housed an exceptional technical set, including electric motor, fan and measuring instruments, making this site one of the first aerodynamic laboratories in the world.

In 1920, Eiffel transferred the laboratory to the technical services of aeronautics, which entrusted him in 1929 to the Trade Union Chamber of Aeronautics Industries. After 1945, its activities expanded to include automobiles, civil engineering (study of wind resistance in buildings) and ventilation. The wind tunnel, still operational in 1997, then tested aircraft, cars and infrastructure models. Since 1999, the laboratory has been a subsidiary of the Centre scientifique et technique du bâtiment (CSTB), working with engineering and architectural schools.

Ranked a historic monument in 1997 for its wind tunnel and its technical devices (motor, fan, control panels), the site maintains a research and industrial delivery activity. He is involved in innovative projects, such as the natural cooling by wind of a district of La Réunion or the Arena de Ouangani in Mayotte. The laboratory, a private property, remains an emblematic place of French engineering, combining heritage and modernity.

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