Loss of biodiversity, threats to crops, risks of floods, and urban heat islands exacerbating the effects of global warming are a few of the many consequences of soil sealing. France's Climate and Resilience Law, passed in 2021, acknowledges the scale of the problem and addresses it by setting a no-net-land-take objective looking at 2050. VINCI Immobilier is getting to work to meet that objective by 2030 for all its operations in France, thereby reinforcing its status as an expert in circular town planning.
Curbing urban sprawl, fostering social mix, and opening the door to circular, positive urbanisation that benefits city dwellers and future generations are encompassed by the expression that has become the objective of "building the city above the city". For VINCI's teams, which are involved at various stages in the urban planning process (property and urban development, construction, rehabilitation, operation, etc.), this objective is already a reality.
In Saint-Denis (northern suburbs of Paris), the venue for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the project developed by VINCI Immobilier on a former industrial brownfield site exemplifies the new generation of urban renewal operations. Built to become part of the Athletes' Village, Universeine is being transformed after the Games into a vast neighbourhood offering family and student housing, offices, services, businesses and cultural activities.
The project also involved VINCI Construction and VINCI Energies. Its carbon footprint is 40% lighter than that of conventional concrete buildings, thanks to the use of timber combined with low and ultra-low carbon concrete. Universeine also recycled or reused 75% of the materials used during its temporary phase, such as prefabricated bathrooms and partitions. "Urban oases" created with natural gardens, planted terraces, biodiversity corridors leading to the Seine and other green features will have a cooling effect, helping in the fight against the consequences of global warming.
L'archipel, VINCI's new headquarters, was built on a brownfield site overlapping with a rail line and is the first strategic project in the new Les Groues district in Nanterre (western suburbs of Paris). This building complex, covering more than 75,000 sq. metres and employing close to 4,000 people, is unique insofar as it integrates private commercial premises and a public transport facility, the new Nanterre-la-Folie station (Eole, the western extension of RER E), into a single project.
Interlinking business functions to break down silos, recreating connections between employees, local residents and shops, contributing to the birth of a new urban district are just a few of the objectives sought and achieved by l’archipel. L’archipel also showcases the Group's expertise as a builder, particularly in terms of the environmental performance of buildings, integrating ultra-low carbon concrete, active slabs and geothermal energy. As for the circular economy, the objective of building recyclability is ambitious: l’archipel has been designed as a material library of the future, inspired by the guidelines of the cradle to cradle approach.
In 2010, VINCI set up and has continually supported the think tank La Fabrique de la Cité, which brings together stakeholders and experts from all disciplines and geographical backgrounds to identify and analyse the economic, social and ecological challenges facing cities. La Fabrique de la Cité draws on the expertise of its steering committee members to establish an annual programme of debates, meetings, land studies and documentary work. Ever mindful of French and international best practices, the think tank observes local balances and dynamics, highlights inspiring initiatives, clarifies controversies and puts forward proposals for new urban development models for public debate.
La Fabrique de la Cité is a French think tank dedicated to urban planning, and urban transitions.
We seek to bring together experts, elected officials and private businesses from diverse backgrounds, to help them understand the economic, social, and ecological challenges of the modern city.
