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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Divers
  3. Centre Val-de-Loire
  4. Loiret
  5. 45100 Orléans

  6. Interregional Information Processing Service (ISIT No. 3)

Interregional Information Processing Service (ISIT No. 3) à Orléans dans le Loiret

Loiret

Interregional Information Processing Service (ISIT No. 3)

    6 Avenue Claude Guillemin
    45100 Orléans
Service inter-régional de traitement de linformation SITI n3
Service inter-régional de traitement de linformation SITI n3
Crédit photo : Fab5669 - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Époque contemporaine
2000
1964
Launch of IBM 360
1965
Creation of ISIT No. 1
1966-1969
Construction of ISIS No. 3
12 mai 2015
Partial registration
5 février 2016
Complete classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Inter-regional Service for the Treatment of Information (SITI no. 3), sis 2, rue Paul-Langevin, at the corner of Avenue Claude-Guillemin: the facades and roofs of the former service units contiguous to it; the fence wall on Avenue Claude-Guillemin and Rue Paul-Langevin and its entrances (Box EN 8): inscription by order of 12 May 2015. - The SITI building and the basins, with their spheres, which adjoin it, in full, as delimited by a red border on the plan annexed to the decree (box EN 8): classification by decree of 5 February 2016

Key figures

Gérard Thurnauer - Architect ISIC Co-Conceptor #3.
André Mao - Architect ISIC Co-Conceptor #3.

Origin and history

The Interregional Information Processing Service (SITI no. 3) is an emblematic building built between 1966 and 1969 in Orléans, in the district of La Source, by the Montrouge Workshop. It is one of the first French buildings designed to house large-scale computer systems as part of the modernization of EDF. This center was to process billing for 9 million subscribers, with IBM 370-155 machines, 13 printers and 18 magnetic tape scrollers, requiring a structure capable of supporting exceptional loads.

SITI No. 3 is part of a national network including two other sites (Issy-les-Moulineaux and Lyon), aimed at centralizing administrative management via IT. Its architecture, combining metal structure and raw concrete, reflects the technical challenges of the time: adaptation to technological changes and resistance to mechanical constraints of equipment. The building, located 2 rue Paul-Langevin, is now classified as a historical monument (2016) for its role in industrial and architectural history.

The site also includes basins with adjacent spheres, as well as functional housing and a fence wall, protected since 2015. Designed by architects Gérard Thurnauer and André Mao, it symbolizes the integration of technological innovation into the urban planning of the new cities of the 1960s. Its ranking underlines its importance as a witness to the computer revolution in France and the functionalist architecture.

ISIT #3 was dedicated to data processing for the North, East, West and West Central regions, with a capacity of 100,000 printed invoices per day. The heavy machinery and paper storage requirements imposed bold constructive solutions, marking a milestone in the history of French IT infrastructures. Today, the site remains a rare example of protected industrial architecture linked to the emerging digital age.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum