Sustainable housing:

Sustainable housing:

Sustainable housing: the ABC concept

A comprehensive approach of sustainable housing, that is autonomous and has a strong social value, bringing together innovations which will be available on future works. Research and development takes on its full meaning when it leads to a concrete improvement in the life of the users of our works or our construction methods and techniques. Back to the example of the ABC concept: the first example in France of which came to life in Grenoble in the heart of the EcoCité Presqu’île.

Subtainable housing: a response to concrete issues

Because the earth’s resources are not infinite, because health issues linked to pollution are omnipresent, Bouygues Construction’s R&D team has swung into action to reduce humankind’s impact on the environment in a context that is just as complex as that of the housing or tertiary sectors. With the aim of the technique and innovations serving the environment and well-being of its inhabitants, the ABC concept was born: Autonomous Building for Citizens.

Developed with Suez and Valode & Pistre architects, the ABC concept offers autonomous housing, freeing itself from usual networks for a better control of energy expenses. Designed within a global framework, it includes all environmental, technical, economic and social aspects of future buildings.

A is for Autonomous: towards autonomous buildings

Packed with innovations, this building aims for water and energy autonomy, as well as an optimisation of waste management. In fact, rainwater will be collected and made drinkable, waste water will be treated and reused. The energy produced by the photovoltaic cells is stored in batteries and provides electricity to the building, apartments and the heating system. ABC offers a different way of thinking about and experiencing housing. Waste is sorted and recovered via composting. Embedded within their natural environment, these innovative homes draw the resources they need from directly from their surroundings.

B is for Building: a new sustainable and smart building

To do this, Bouygues and its partners have reviewed all their processes. We have used innovative technologies and expertise in order to make this new type of building that we have imagined a reality. Some of the stages in the construction process rely on standardisation methods to build faster while maintaining very high levels of quality.

C is for Citizens: areas to meet the citizens’ expectations

Today, citizens have new expectations and wish to have areas dedicated to their comfort. We included their concerns in our thinking process, in order to design housing that favours well-being and exchange between inhabitants.  The inhabitants will also be the major players with regards to the building’s autonomy. Continuously informed of their consumption, they will be able to adjust it and develop sharing practices, thus creating social connections and togetherness.

The ABC Concept: a Comprehensive Approach to Sustainable Housing
The ABC Concept: a Comprehensive Approach to Sustainable Housing

Denis Valode, Valode & Pistre Architects

The goal of ABC is to create urban housing. It is also a chance to develop a new relationship with residents. Each architectural and technical solution is evaluated in terms of its social value. First of all, it's a way to see how to facilitate the appropriation of the site, to encourage users to be more concerned about their environment, to facilitate friendly interactions, and to adapt to new ways of life that characterize the evolution of our urban society.

The ABC Concept: a Comprehensive Approach to Sustainable Housing
Key figures
70

autonomy in water and in energy 

40

% reduction in household waste