Bouygues Construction cuts the carbon footprint of offices by three with its new concept building

An innovative approach to accelerate the transition of the tertiary market

The building sector has a major role to play in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions. In France, in 2020 it represented 43% of energy consumption and 23% of CO2 emissions. Bouygues Construction is committed to an approach that aims to respond to the market by providing solutions to environmental issues. Among the areas of reflection for more sustainable cities and territories, a new approach is needed to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of construction.

An inspiring concept for the offices of tomorrow

With the aim of designing a concept building that is as low carbon as possible, Bouygues Construction mobilized its teams of experts for several months, freeing itself from the limits of specifications and based on the climate forecasts projected in 2040.

This approach aims to transform the vision of office construction by focusing on the essentials: designing the lowest possible carbon building by finding the right balance between sobriety, comfort, connectivity and scalability.

This entire iterative phase was supported by Franck Boutté Consultants, a design and environmental engineering agency. Following this exploratory approach, the concept building was interpreted and enriched by 3 renowned architectural firms: NeM / Niney and Marca Architects, Coldefy, Martin Duplantier Architects.

This concept building pushes the limits and favors in particular the economy of materials through an in-depth analysis of the shape of the building, a design that is as accurate as possible in terms of technological sobriety, the structural use of wood, the circular economy or even the implementation of biosourced materials, for example raw earth.

It divides by 3 the average carbon footprint of offices currently under construction and displays a threshold of 40% lower than the objectives of RE2031.

This approach is also intended to be extended to the rehabilitation market.

Several architectural interpretations to illustrate the possibilities offered by the concept building

To translate the innovation approach carried out by the Bouygues Construction engineering teams, 3 architectural firms worked to interpret the concept building solutions on 3 sites and 3 different climates:

In the North of France with Duplantier Architectes:

The project gives pride of place to raw earth. The East and West facades are composed of adobe walls which aim to generate strong inertia. Large south-facing terraces make it possible to offer quality outdoor spaces while

bringing the right quantity of radiants controlled by sunscreens. Finally, inside the building, Nubian vaults make up the center of the plateaus in order to provide warm spaces while regulating the hygrometry.

In Ile-de-France with NeM:

The project relies on the reuse of materials and local procurement. Based on a project in the Ile-de-France region being deconstructed, elements were identified and structured the entire project. Thus, many reused materials would find a second life. For example, the facade, which is made up of 75% reused frames that act as cladding and sunshades, or the recycled concrete walls that play the role of thermal regulators by discharging their heat or their freshness. .

In the South-East with Coldefy:

The project takes advantage of a contemporary riad, a veritable fertile bioclimatic vegetated patio. Thanks to the coolness available at the heart of the project and the installation of wind towers on the roof, the cool air from the patio is captured by the offices in order to cool them down. Elegant and vegetated passageways on the East/West/South facades make it possible to create spaces of well-being while playing the role of sunscreen.

This project illustrates the strong ability of Bouygues Construction teams to innovate in order to offer customers carbon-free solutions that meet the challenges of society. In September 2020, Bouygues Construction had already delivered a housing concept building, the ABC building, to Grenoble, with the aim of making it as autonomous as possible.