Low-carbon construction of Paris Olympic Village unveiled
— The athletes’ village for the Paris Olympics, which was inaugurated Thursday, contains a host of innovations intended to make it a model of low-carbon construction.
Faced with concerns about the vast emissions caused by the Games — from the construction work, the air miles and catering — Paris 2024 organizers set out to make the village as environmentally friendly as possible.
With its roughly 40 different blocks, it was intended to be a “coherent model of the best things we can do at the start of the 21st century, even a bit ahead of time,” according to the head of the Paris Olympics infrastructure group, Nicolas Ferrand.
The 2,800 apartments will generate around half of the carbon emissions as equivalents built with regular construction techniques when energy savings over their lifetimes are taken into account, the Paris Games infrastructure body Solideo says.
Naturally cool
Organizers are proud of offering an Olympic village that they say does not require air-conditioning to keep residents cool, with temperatures inside set to be at least 6 degrees Celsius lower than outside in summer.
The secret is reversible underfloor
plumbing linked to a local geothermal power plant that draws cool water from beneath the surface during the summer and heat from far underground in the winter.
The renewable system helps dramatically reduce operational costs and the carbon footprint of the buildings, but it has alarmed some sporting delegations given Paris’ recent record-breaking summers.
In many cases, the builders swapped out carbon-intensive concrete for wood, resulting in many of the structures using the natural material for their core support, as well as facades and floors.
Low-carbon concrete — which uses less energy-intensive materials and processes to make the bonding agent — was widely used across the site.
Real greenery
As a showcase of a future urban model, the village has large gardens that will account for 40 percent of total land space and include 9,000 trees and shrubs.
“With our system of recycling water, it will enable areas for relaxation and cooling off,” Charles Richard-Molard, deputy director in charge of public at Solideo said.