The National Botanical Conservatory of Brest inaugurates its new buildings

Its purpose is the knowledge and preservation of plant heritage in the regions of Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Normandy as well as in the context of international partnerships. It has about forty employees.

Located in the Vallon du Stang Alar in Brest, the Conservatory has the goods and resources made available to it by the metropolis (premises, land, gardeners, etc.) to exercise its powers.

400.000 visitors per year

The new administrative, scientific and technical buildings have been created to provide a new technical platform to meet the challenges (seed bank, data bank, documentation centre, herbarium, meeting spaces, etc.). They are more rational and respectful of environmental rules than the old infrastructures that have become dilapidated. These premises are also designed to be communicating, more visible and visitable.

They fit into a dedicated botanical garden, offering a 30-hectare tour of the plant world. This exceptional site is labeled Remarkable Garden, Botanical Garden of France and Conservatory of Specialized Plant Collections. It is visited every year by nearly 400.000 people.

Economical, functional and environmentally friendly buildings

The consortium of the Philippe Madec workshop, Ingerop Conseil et Ingénierie and Horizons paysage was chosen for the construction of the new buildings.

In this architectural revival, the various functional centers are divided into three compact volumes, linked by the greenhouse, the free spaces of which will be intended to become a place of meetings, exchanges and relaxation. The buildings are low-rise, consisting of one storey on the ground floor. Their roof of the same slope as the greenhouse contributes to the unity of the place.

The diversity of places set up in the free spaces of the greenhouse, vegetated and very bright, in the interstices between the buildings, offers varied uses for reception and circulation. The offices and laboratories of the Conservatory have received special attention, in order to promote efficiency and working comfort, via glazed spaces benefiting from natural light.

The choice of the greenhouse reflects a desire to integrate the layout of the building into the park, to evoke through its structure the activities of the Conservatory and to structure the space in order to improve its readability.

This achievement also responds to Brest Métropole's commitment to the environment and biodiversity. The choice of materials, energy efficiency and the creation of a healthy and comfortable indoor environment are important selection criteria for this project.

The bioclimatic design, a reasoned use of the sun and high thermal performance facades allow a smooth insertion of the buildings in the garden of the Conservatory.

A true showcase of the region's biodiversity, the Conservatory therefore has a building whose materials guarantee a reduced impact on the environment. These choices (the wood used in the frame and cladding, straw as the main insulation material, the installation of green roofs and a roof water recovery system for washing vehicles) save natural resources and support for local industries.

The amount of the transaction is €7 million including tax, i.e.:

• Brest metropolis: €2.9 million
• Condition: €981.000
• Brittany Region under the contract
• Pays de Brest: €1.6 million
• Brittany Region under the metropolitan contract: €900.000
• Departmental Council of Finistère: €530.000

The National Botanical Conservatory of Brest – public service missions and recognized expertise at regional, national and international levels

The National Botanical Conservatory of Brest performs a public service mission recognized by the Environmental Code. This mission is exercised primarily in the regions of Brittany, Normandy and Pays de la Loire where it works in close collaboration with local authorities, State services, managers of natural areas, education networks or also international organizations, to carry out its four missions, listed in the Environmental Code:

• Know the wild plant heritage: study wild plants and natural environments, measure their state of conservation and their evolution
• Disseminate data and information on plants and natural environments
• Conserve the rarest and most endangered elements in nature, in cultivation or in seed banks
• Advise territorial stakeholders: provide scientific and technical expertise
• Raise awareness, inform and train residents, schoolchildren, botanists and professionals in the preservation of biodiversity.

Secondly, the National Botanical Conservatory contributes to the national expertise developed by the 12 National Botanical Conservatories in close collaboration with the French Office for Biodiversity and the Ministry of Ecology.

Thirdly, it conducts expert appraisals at the international level, primarily in biodiversity hotspots (Mauritius, Madagascar, Chile, Sicily, etc.) to support the development of skills and structures as close as possible to conservation issues.

The CBNB joint union is made up of four members: Brest metropolis, the Regional Council of Brittany, the Departmental Council of Finistère and the University of Western Brittany. Since its creation in 1975, the Botanical Conservatory has seen its missions and skills strengthened. It also houses the world's third largest collection of endangered plant species and shines nationally and internationally. It has about forty specialized employees.

If the role of the Botanical Conservatory is already essential today on all questions related to plant heritage, the coming period should establish its structuring role and accelerate the development of its activity in the light of various factors:

• The aggravation of the problems of preserving biodiversity
• Management of a network of expertise with regional and inter-regional roots
• The need to support public biodiversity policies
• The contractualization of missions and the need for numerous partnerships
• The internationalization of issues and the development of cooperation exchanges
• The growing importance of environmental communication and the pedagogy of action
• The inclusion of the project in a logic of polarization of the biodiversity skills of the Metropolis of Brest as an extension of Océanopolis, ocean discovery park, Center for Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture of the sea
• The increasingly strong contribution to regional networks for the dissemination of knowledge in the field of biodiversity