[5][6] Originally built at a cost of €147.1 million as the seat of the regional council of Rhône-Alpes, the construction of the building was approved by the regional council on 7 April 2005, followed by a European-level architecture competition from November 2005 to September 2006, the procurement of a building permit on 30 August 2007, groundbreaking on 8 July 2008, and the relocation of employees over a six-week period starting on 19 May 2011.

[7] On 21 June 2014, the new headquarters of the regional council of Auvergne at the Hôtel de Région in Clermont-Ferrand at 59 boulevard Léon Jouhaux was officially opened, built at a cost of €81 million.

Although Jean-Jack Queyranne, president of the regional council of Rhône-Alpes, suggested that the merged region could alternate between the two seats, with plenary assemblies in Lyon and standing committees in Clermont-Ferrand, the idea was scrapped given the comparison to the experience of the European Parliament with its two seats in Brussels and Strasbourg.

[5] The building continues to house administrative functionaries,[10] with space rented out for associations and start-ups and serving as a venue for events and conferences in an effort to make the structure profitable.

Laurent Wauquiez was elected president of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes at its opening session in Lyon on 4 January 2016.