Sustainability key mantra of Paris 2024 arena

Article posted by Coliseum, January 26^th, 2021

Image: SCAU & NP2F

A consortium led by the construction engineering company Bouygues Bâtiment Île-de-France has been chosen by the City of Paris (France) for the design, construction and technical operation of the Porte de la Chapelle Arena, which will stage badminton, para taekwondo and para badminton at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will also sport two gymnasiums.

Construction work is scheduled to commence in June 2021 ahead of completion in July 2023.

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the biggest event ever organized in France. They will take place from July 26^th, 2024 to August 11^th, 2024. The Games are a popular, multicultural festival, a celebration to share with the rest of the world.

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In 2020, the City of Paris Tender Committee had awarded the overall contract for the design, construction and technical operation of the Arena Porte de la Chapelle to the consortium led by Bouygues Bâtiment Île-de-France and the architecture firms SCAU and NP2F.

An 8,000-seat arena dedicated to high-level sport will come up and it will also stage major sporting events in the capital. The two gymnasiums will comprise equipment which can also be used by the local players. Leisure and retail spaces will also come up.

It will be a mixed use development and the arena will sit between the gates of the Chapel and Aubervilliers. Once it opens in 2023, the Arena Porte de la Chapelle will host both national as well as international fixtures, Paris Basketball in residence, as well as concerts, shows and even conferences.

The sustainability quotient ranks high in the Arena’s agenda and a lot of impetus has been given on energy savings as well as maintenance.

The architectural aspect comprises three elements:

Firstly, a largely glazed plinth will open out to the neighborhood and will boast local public facilities or the main reception hall of the large hall, spilling over to the forecourt;
At 11.50 m high, a terrace full of vegetation and nearly 3,000 m² of outdoor relaxation areas with a panoramic view of Greater Paris;
A signature feature of the project will be a 360-degree crown of the Arena made of recyclable light-colored aluminum; and
The Arena will meet all the criteria of staging major cultural and sporting events and will enjoy a large peripheral terrace.

Funding

The arena is estimated to cost €98m (£88.5m/$109.1m), €8m more than was initially projected in Paris 2024’s bid documents. It will be financed equally by Solideo, the entity which is managing infrastructure development for the Games, and the City. The latter will contribute a further €20m to finance the construction of two gyms and a mixed-use development.

‘Green roofs’

The Arena will boast acoustics prowess as well as ‘Green’ roofs. Biosourced materials will be utilized with 100 percent wooden frames for the two gymnasiums, mixed wood-concrete floors 60 percent of which are in wood. Overall, the Arena will be made of bio-based materials.

Reducing carbon footprints

To reduce the carbon footprint of the building, in addition to the use of wood, 30 percent of concrete used for construction will come from low-carbon sectors (which reduce greenhouse gas emissions). Recycled materials will be used for the walls and will also be made of compressed raw earth bricks. The whole construction work will be carried out by a company from the Social and Solidarity Economy.

The Social and Solidarity Economy tries to recover the economy’s original function, placing it at the service of people by managing resources fairly and using them in a sustainable way, as well as creating a production model that turns work into an instrument for meeting human needs. Its main mantra is – ‘Commitment to the Community’.

The Arena will house a district cooling production plant using local geothermal energy. It will cater to the Arena’s cooling and heating needs – 100 percent use of renewable energy. It will consume three times less energy than a conventional arena.

Nature-invested

With more than 6,000 m² of ‘Green roof’ and 1,700 m² of planted terrace, 80 percent of the Arena will be nature-invested.

The timeline:

Summer 2020 to summer 2021: Design, planning permission, preparation works;
Summer 2021: Construction begins;
July-September 2024: The Arena hosts the Paris 2024 Olympic badminton and Paralympic taekwondo and badminton events; and
Beyond the Games: The Arena will host top-level sports tournaments, live performances and other events in its main hall, and its gyms and other facilities will be open every day of the week for people living in the area.

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