Faced with the housing shortage, Rennes is studying the elevation of buildings

We must "respond to an environmental objective which is to be able to do without urban expansion and construction in agricultural areas, and continue to meet the demand for (housing) needs which is still very strong in the metropolis" , declared Thursday Marc Hervé, metropolitan councilor responsible for urban forms.

“When we combine these two dimensions, we realize that raising the height is one of the possibilities for continuing to build in our territories,” added Mr. Hervé, also First Deputy for Urban Planning for the city of Rennes, during a press conference.

This study, entrusted to a firm, must be submitted in the summer. A public study is then planned for the fall for possible approval of the modification of the local intercommunal urban planning plan (Plui) in spring 2025.

“There are already rules which allow the elevation, but not in all cases”, specified Laurence Besserve, vice-president of Rennes Métropole and delegate for development, noting that the modification of the Plui “would make it possible to amplify the elevation".

“We will rather move towards the use of biosourced materials, wood or straw walls, because they are less heavy per m2, and which can be in perfect harmony with the structure below which can be stone, earth, concrete. ..”, added Ms. Besserve.

This densification work "is not always very popular", acknowledged Mr. Hervé, but "there is a change of scale directly linked to this new context of zero net artificialization which means that our urban models must be more sober in their development.

The metropolis of Rennes, which has 460.000 inhabitants, should reach 535.000 inhabitants in 2035, "requiring the creation of 65.000 new housing units", according to the metropolis.