Can urban greening come to the rescue of life in cities?
The summer of 2022 has sadly left its mark on the history of France. Some people see it as the clear consequences, others hear alarm bells ringing... With an unprecedented drought, repeated dramatic fires and record temperatures, France, like other countries around the world, is overheating! This fact highlights the vital and indeed health-giving role played by urban greening.
“De-gendering” cities: a new criterion of attractiveness?
Cities are made by men and for men: they have historically been planned and designed to reflect the traditional role of the male gender. This is a considerable problem since all genders should have equity in sharing the public space.
Building schools in modular wood
Interview with Marina Da Silva Carvalhais, R&D projects and Wood Construction Innovations (WeWood).
Flax: A fibre of the future for construction?
Resistant, light, efficient, ecological… Flax is used in construction on land and even on the sea! In 2022, the Netherlands inaugurated the world’s first linen bridge. A navigator used it to build the hull of his boat… Can this plant material really meet the needs of urban construction?
Is digitalisation the key to building differently
Attracting talent, mitigating climate change, and improving productivity: These are the construction sector's three main challenges. BIM and various digital tools offer useful solutions, but these are not enough.
What if your sites were supplied via rivers instead of roads?
Faced with the current energy situation, we must urgently find alternative solutions that will enable us to change the ways we produce and transport our materials. Among the solutions considered, one of the priorities – particularly for the industrial sector – is to find means of transport that are more energy-efficient and less harmful to local residents. Focus on river transport.
New challenges in public space
Today, public spaces are facing new challenges – societal, environmental, political, technological and economic – and must deal with the uncertainty of a changing world. How can public spaces be designed to meet the various expectations of society while also being able to adapt to future developments?
Free public transport: issues and positions of the key players in the debate
The issue of free public transport was widely debated in France’s 2020 municipal elections. Its presence on the headlines of many campaign documents demonstrates the political, environmental and societal nature of the issue. Several issues arise from the implementation of such a public policy. We examine the positions of the key stakeholders in the debate.
How do you design green roofs?
Green roofs are on the up and up. And for good reason! They have many environmental, economic and social benefits. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, they can promote biodiversity, improve the insulation of buildings and retain rainwater. Recent research conducted by ecologists is improving our understanding of the conditions under which rooftop vegetation thrives and develops, and assessing the quality of ecosystem services provided by different types of roofs. We consider the factors behind the design choices for such ecosystems.
What kind of governance is appropriate for a convivial city?
At the request of Bouygues Construction and La République des Hyper Voisins, six students from the École Urbaine at Sciences Po Paris worked for nine months on creating conviviality in urban areas. The proposed exploration strategy is to create the conditions for conviviality by introducing a professionally-structured form of citizen action on a micro-local scale. Explore their recommendations for the forms of governance that are most conducive to the emergence of convivial spaces, based on eleven areas of investigation in France and Switzerland.
How do players in US construction innovate?
Interview with Viviane André, an analyst at Winnovation, a Bouygues Group subsidiary.
Should we build higher and higher to fight against land artificialisation?
The fight against urban sprawl and land artificialisation is a national priority that is pushing those in the building sector to look for solutions to make cities denser. One of these solutions is to build ever taller buildings. A controversial issue.
The French Towns Adopting Sustainable Construction Charters
Many towns and cities are looking for a way to remodel their urban planning to give them resilience in the face of climate issues. One such solution is to rally the stakeholders in an area - residents, companies and local authorities - to move towards housing solutions that are innovative, sustainable and accessible to all: that is the cited goal of the ‘sustainable construction charters’ emerging around France.
How much will the ecological transition cost the construction industry?
In the last segment of its sixth activity report, the GIEC specifies very clearly that on the economic level, the ecological transition will prove less expensive for the global economy than if we do nothing. Several sectors are highly exposed to this issue, in particular transport, energy and construction. But acting, how much will it cost? The subject is a complex one but initial estimates are starting to be seen.
Guide to Regreening Cities
Focus on planting initiatives to regreen cities including urban canopies to provide plant life without digging, planters with automatic watering or rainwater harvesting systems, “oasis” schoolyards, and urban mini-forests.
Tackling traffic congestion in cities
Tackling traffic congestion has always been a major challenge for local authorities. Many different approaches have been attempted, including adding lanes, removing lanes and multimodal transport.
Towards a more “ecosystemic” energy performance of buildings
Controlling energy consumption has become an environmental, social and economic necessity, due to the numerous impacts on the biosphere and society as a whole: climate change, depletion of natural resources, deterioration of health, etc.
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Top of the month
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The Gibraltar site is maintaining momentum!
Since November 2015 more than 100 site workers from Bouygues Energies & Services have been working to build a next-generation thermal power plant in Gibraltar. The aim of the project is to replace three fossil fuel power plants dating from over 30 years ago, which no longer meet European requirements. The biggest challenge in the […]
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Urban agriculture: what economic model?
Under lockdowns, many French people started to cultivate their own garden, including in cities or on the outskirts of cities, confirming the success of certain forms of urban agriculture. Major cities are becoming visibly greener, but does urban agriculture have an economic model that will ensure it has a stable future?
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Transport and industry: what if green hydrogen was the key to decarbonisation?
In order to accelerate the reduction of their own carbon footprint and support their customers with energy transition, Bouygues Construction and Bouygues Energies & Services signed an agreement on 15 October to invest in PowiDian, a start-up specialising in the self-sufficient production of hydrogen-based energy. This is the best way to reach zero carbon.
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The tertiary decree: 60% energy savings are in sight
The so-called ‘tertiary’ decree, applicable since 2019, imposes a gradual reduction in the energy consumption of this type of building up until 2050. Like any new regulation, this involves a period of adaptation - especially as the objectives set are ambitious. However, the ‘Syndicat professionnel des entreprises de la transition énergétique et numérique’ (Serce) (Professional Union of Energy and Digital Transition Companies)considers them to befully attainable.
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Foresight: understanding and responding to future challenges
As a responsible, committed company, Bouygues Construction must be able to quickly adapt to changes in the world and in our society. What is this all about? Anticipating usage to fully respond to both current and future needs and trends: in technology, the environment, demographics, society and the economy. To help in this daily challenge, Bouygues Construction has a team that is dedicated to foresight. But what does foresight mean in concrete terms?
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The longest sea viaduct on French territory
This 5,400 metre-long sea viaduct, which will connect Saint-Denis (the capital of Reunion Island) to La Grande Chaloupe, is a major component of the New Coastal Road. The aim is to replace the current road along the coast between Saint-Denis and La Possession, which is dangerously exposed to the risk of rock falls and submersion […]
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The Greencity eco-neighbourhood is coming to life
Building work began on Greencity exactly two years ago. Today, the neighbourhood is coming to life. Residents have taken over the first homes in the eco-neighbourhood located to the south of Zurich in Switzerland.
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What role can bicycles play in the cities of the future?
The COVID-19 pandemic, through the urban planning initiative of "coronavirus bike lanes", has highlighted the return of the bicycle to the city. In reality, this comeback has been under way for many years, though it did get a recent boost. What are the causes? What are the consequences on urban planning today? What will bicycles in cities look like ?
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Interview of the month: Pauline Philippe
An interview with Pauline Philippe, sustainable real estate and biomimicry consultant at Elan. Bio-based real estate: reinventing a city by living organisms, for living organisms.
