A fully functional, full-scale control room that is finally open to visitors: On Thursday, September 17, 2026, SOA will inaugurate its Experience Center dedicated to control rooms, monitoring centers, and crisis rooms in Saint-Symphorien-d’Ozon, south of Lyon. An operational control room, a crisis room equipped with the latest technology, and a six-screen Barco video wall fed by Hanwha Vision cameras: everything our customers usually can’t visit, all in one place.
Why have an Experience Center dedicated to the control room?
Since 1975, SOA has been designing, manufacturing, and installing control and supervision rooms for the nuclear, security and defense, petrochemical, and transportation industries. These environments have one thing in common: they are virtually impossible to visit. They are regulated sites that require security clearances, and the rooms operate 24 hours a day—during which time visitors are not allowed to enter or speak while the systems are in operation. We already explained this in our article “Control Rooms: Accessible or Inaccessible?”
The result: Until now, our customers have experienced our solutions through blueprints, 3D models, or virtual reality. The Experience Center changes that. It’s a real control room, set up on our premises, where you can sit at the console, adjust the height of the work surface, control the video wall, and judge for yourself the ergonomics, acoustics, and lighting of a modern control room.
Entrance lobby, control room, crisis center: three spaces to explore
The entrance airlock serves as a reception area and a transition point to the technical areas, just like in a real control room.
The control room is the heart of our expertise: a custom-designed and manufactured SOA control console, featuring integrated side LED lighting and controllable color schemes, facing a Barco video wall consisting of six 55-inch screens and its dedicated control system. This video wall displays live feeds from the Hanwha Vision cameras installed in the Experience Center: monitoring is conducted under real-world conditions, using actual footage, rather than demonstration content. Surrounding the operator console are the technologies that make a difference every day in a control room: electrochromic glass that makes the screens opaque on demand, circadian lighting that follows the rhythm of the day, and motorized blinds—all controlled from a touchscreen tablet.
The crisis room, the final phase of the project, has been completed in time for the inauguration. Featuring a state-of-the-art crisis table, dynamic wall-mounted screens, and acoustic treatment, this collaborative space is designed to facilitate rapid decision-making, in line with our approach to crisis rooms and command centers.
Grand opening on September 17, 2026, with our customers and partners
On Thursday, September 17, 2026, SOA, Barco, and Hanwha Vision will inaugurate the Experience Center in the presence of invited clients and partners. Throughout the day, in small groups, guests will take their places at the control console and operate the equipment in the control room. The Barco teams will present live demonstrations of how the video wall and its control solution are used; the Hanwha Vision teams will demonstrate their cameras and video surveillance solutions, whose feeds power the video wall; and the SOA teams will detail the choices made regarding ergonomics, technical furniture, lighting, and acoustics.
Would you like to visit the Experience Center?
Following the grand opening, the Experience Center will be open for visits by appointment to companies and local governments planning to set up a control room, urban supervision center, or crisis center. It also serves as a venue for discussion where visitors can test workstation layouts, compare display solutions, or finalize lighting choices before launching a project.
Are you interested in a tour? Email us at contact@soa-agencement.com, specifying your company and your project, and we’ll work with you to schedule a date. To see our control room projects throughout France, check out the map of our projects.
Our Partners
This demonstration control room was designed in collaboration with Barco (video wall and control system), Hanwha Vision (cameras and video surveillance), TRILUX (lighting), Projectview, and Good Waves. We thank them for their support in this new phase.
Practical information
Where is the SOA Experience Center located?
At the SOA offices, located at 18 rue Jules Ferry, 69360 Saint-Symphorien-d’Ozon (Rhône), about 20 kilometers south of Lyon.
When is the opening ceremony?
Thursday, September 17, 2026, by invitation only, in the presence of our clients and partners.
How do I visit the Experience Center?
By appointment, following the opening. Simply email us at contact@soa-agencement.com to schedule a date to tour the control room.
Are you designing or renovating a control room? Talk to our engineering department.
