L'Ensoleillée, Efficient Building of the Green Building Solutions Awards 2014

The Green Building Solutions Awards 2014 rewarded l’Ensoleillée in Aix-en-Provence (France) with the Efficient Building Award. This exemplary tertiary park is based on the Ywood concept, developed and carried by Nexity.

Innovative approach, great energy efficiency and low environmental footprint: the Ywood concept implemented in Aix-en-Provence definitely seduced the Green Building Solutions Awards international jury. This tertiary park is perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean climate and received the Mediterranean Sustainable Building approach (BDM) with the Gold level, for both design and construction phases

The Ywood product is developed by Nexity since 2010 through a multidisciplinary working group led by the strategic marketing branch to meet three major challenges:

• Very short construction timelines (6 months)
• Anticipating thermal regulations for buildings by reaching optimal energy performances and working on envelope and equipments.
• Think on the idea of sustainable benefits and integrate it to every project.

These three challenges led Ywood to adopt a timber building system, working closely with the Binderholz BBS Group. The leading position of the Austrian company Binderholz was a great asset for Ywood, as well as its early deep involvement in its development. With the Binderholz BBS building system, the 6 months goal for construction timelines is met and Ywood buildings present a carbon footprint about 50% lower than current concrete buildings.

For l’Ensoleillée, a few modifications were necessary to adapt the product to the Mediterranean climate, with the collaboration of the WOA agency who designed the Ywood product, and Tangram Architectes, who worked on the adaptation and acted as an interface with local governments:

• Excellent orientation of the building
• Enlarged passageways to create a sun-shading effect
• Thorough work on insulation and air tightness
• Early dynamic energy simulation

With Ywood, Nexity targets the offices market first: from very small businesses to international companies, like Orange (French Telecom Group) who moved into the offices of l’Ensoleillée. Orange decided to get involved early in the project. Nexity is very conscious that energy efficiency is not tied to the buildings and their equipments only. They know it also includes usages, that’s why they provide their clients with a guide for eco-behaviours, insuring energy and environmental performance for the building. Thus they exceed the « green leases » expectations.

The examples of Aix-en-Provence and Boissy-Saint-Léger already have their siblings flourishing across France, with 10 delivered buildings and an 11th coming very soon for the Total Group. Also, by the end of 2015, 15 more buildings will be achieved.

Nexity is already thinking about the next versions for Ywood, beyond the current Ywood Business:

• Bab'Ywood for childcare centers
• Ywood Campus for student residences
• Med'Ywood for medical centers
• Ywood Hotel

Read more about Ywood in its case study on Construction21