Hyperion Tower
Basic information
Project Title
Category
Project Description
The Hyperion tower uses wood as a structural alternative to concrete to achieve a bold aesthetic, with a life-cycle approach to low-carbon construction in a diversity-fostering residential tower. With the use of 1400 m3 of wood, capturing the equivalent of 1000 tonnes of CO2, and the inclusion of social housing which represents a third of the total number of accommodation lots built, the tower perfectly embodies the vision for a sustainable, inclusive economy that benefits every European.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
Culminating at 55 meters, the upper limit for construction in the Bordeaux area, the Hyperion tower perfectly embodies the vision of the New European Bauhaus. A visually striking design mixes wood and reinforced concrete to achieve a bold yet sustainable development that enhances social diversity and drives synergy between local businesses, as it also houses offices and commercial lots.
Born out of a competition organised by the city of Bordeaux, the premise of the project was that at the dawn of the materials revolution, France was home to vast areas of unexploited yet biodiversity-low woodlands that should be used and valued.
To that end, the tower used exclusively locally-sourced timber, driving synergy and structuring the timber supply sector in the region. To that end, and to ensure local sourcing, and monitor the value added to the local economy, a traceability label was created which enabled monitoring at all steps from the felling of the tree to assembly and delivery.
While the building still uses a reinforced concrete core, to comply with seismic regulations and the physical imperatives of the site - such as the shallow groundwater found on the site -, a life-cycle approach was employed in the conception of the building. The life-cycle approach and the pursuit of sobriety led the developers to innovate and manufacture new lightweight, low carbon materials that overall decrease the building's carbon footprint by 45% compared to initial plans.
Finally, in order to increase social diversity and mobility, a third of the allotments constructed have been allocated to social housing. Indeed, 62 of the 176 apartments have been reserved for public housing. A further 38 were marketed at capped prices, with the tower reaching an average price of around €3900 per m2, compared to €4600 on average for the city.
Key objectives for sustainability
The Hyperion tower project was developed as a flagship for Eiffage's sustainable future as a spearhead for the low-carbon transition of European construction. As the project was being conceived, already in 2015, its vocation was to showcase the capabilities of the French construction industry to produce low-carbon, modular buildings that are sustainable by design rather than by regulation.
More precisely, the project aimed at producing a low-carbon building, showcasing the potential of wooden material as a technically and economically suitable alternative to traditional carbon-intensive materials such as concrete, metal...
Further, the project also aimed to develop and re-establish the local timber sector, setting-up an industrial environment around the local supply of timber and creating new sustainable markets. To further ensure those efforts would benefit the local economy, the project also included a track and trace system throughout the timber value-chain, ensuring not only the supply of local raw timber but also its local transformation and valorisation.
Throughout the project design phase, a series of experiments were conducted to determine the technical viability of the material as a structural alternative to concrete. Through this process, multiple patents were obtained. But what's more, the project was delivered special authorizations to use those innovations in a commercial setting, under the guise of a public contract.
Bringing a flagship product to develop the timber construction market allowed for the local timber industry to gain economic relevance. Not only was the supply sector reinvigorated, an industrial ecosystem based around the construction of ready to install units for constructions - facades, floors, or in some cases even entire rooms - was developed and is now thriving.
Another advantage of the pre-fabrication system which benefited local residents was the reduction in on-site noise, air and dust pollution.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
When it comes to aesthetics, the objectives of the Hyperion Tower were simple: bringing bio-based material in urban areas to reconnect people with nature, showcasing how nature can emerge from city-centres, while including traditional attributes that capitalize on the unique setting of the building site.
Bringing natural materials back into the urban environment was a structural part of the project's very conception. The entire facade of the building was entirely made of wood. Further, the French balconies, also mainly built with wood and reinforced with aluminium, featured a natural wooden underside. The result, when standing at the bottom of the tower and looking up, is an overwhelming sense of standing in the middle of woodlands, underneath the canopy.
Designing the building in the middle of a densely populated, heavily artificialized area, while including it in a completely renovated neighbourhood reinforced the idea that the materials used in construction today are a choice and one that can impact the quality of life of all local residents, not just those that inhabit the building.
Finally, the audacious directions taken in the design of the building did not come at the expense of traditional features, many of which southern French people are attached to. For example, in order to capitalise on the building's unique location, which offers a panoramic view of the city of Bordeaux, French balconies were added to each floor.
The result of all these creative avenues is a bold demonstration of what is possible when combining sustainable natural materials in an urban environment, bringing together sustainability and progress.
Key objectives for inclusion
One of the aims of the Hyperion Tower project is to provide an effective answer to the issues regarding the disparities of access to affordable housing in France. Access to affordable accommodation as identified in the early stages as a key strategic objective of the project. Further, another key strategic priority was to increase the synergy between the third sector and businesses of proximity, developing a socio-economic ecosystem that would bring value to the local and regional communities, and sustain it in the long term.
To that end, the project, which led to the successful development of 176 living units, includes 62 social housing units, accessible to low-income families, which contribute to more than a third of the overall project. Further, while all the other units are destined to be sold at retail value, a third of the remaining units have seen their price per unit area capped below market value to facilitate access to real estate investments for lower-income families. This measure allowed the average price of the project's units to reach €3,900 per m2, versus €4,795 per m2 on average in the Bordeaux area.
When it comes to increasing the synergy between the third sector, small businesses of proximity and the local communities, the project was designed to include, in addition to housing units, a 5,000m2 area dedicated to offices, on 8 floors. Further, the project also includes a 340 m2 area dedicated to commercial property at ground level, directly on the street.
The combination between the three types of units is aimed at fostering a socio-economic ecosystem that incentivises the establishment of businesses dedicated to the third sector, as well as proximity businesses that can cater to the local community and profit from the modern reindustrialisation of the area, while creating an inclusive environment that promotes social integration for low-income populations.
Results in relation to category
The Hyperion Tower project achieved significant results in shaping a novel industrial ecosystem that encourages life-cycle thinking and circularity. With the aim of achieving commercial and societal objectives, the project focused heavily on the utilisation of local resources, by enabling the local business community to establish and scale industrial initiatives based on low-carbon, scalable solutions for modular construction.
To that end, a new company was established, Savare, which focuses on the pre-fabrication of floors and walls from raw timber, which are then assembled on site. This solution allows for the reduction of noise and dust pollution on the construction site, reducing the nuisance to local communities.
Further, the company HVA Concept, established 12 years ago, specialises in the construction of bathrooms off-site. The finished product, a construction module that comprises a fully equipped bathroom, is then assembled to the rest of the building in the same way. An innovative solution was used to build the structure of these bathrooms. Indeed, the low-carbon solution, "Wa'ood", allowed reducing the carbon footprint of the building without compromising its structural integrity.
The development of this industrial ecosystem of pre-fabrication allows not only to foster the local economy but also, allows for the reduction of construction time and for improved quality. The focus was therefore on establishing a local, environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and competitive sector that can sustain the local and regional economy for years to come.
The use of bio-sourced materials such as timber and the reduction of the use of carbonated solutions such as concrete was enabled by a life-cycle approach that focused on reducing the carbon emissions of the building throughout its life-cycle, without compromising its structural integrity over time. This approach allowed for a 45% reduction in carbon emissions.
How Citizens benefit
This real estate development project was birthed through a competition launched by a competition by the Public Planning Authority of Bordeaux. Hyperion was, therefore, in its very beginning, the fruit of the involvement of civil society through the public sector.
Further, due to the innovative approach to the design and conception of this project, which aimed to include materials and solutions never before employed at that scale, a number of technical solutions were employed for the very first time, which required special authorisations and derogations.
By redesigning the project over more than four years, through technical studies and experimentation, in close cooperation with public authorities, the project was able to provide local operational solutions to global challenges. The involvement of civil society allowed the project to foster innovation while safeguarding its ability to fulfill the needs of local communities.
Further this project fits into the wider ambition of the city of Bordeaux to renew the urban area of the Saint-Jean Belcier district. This wider dynamic led the project to reconsider its ability to provide an effective answer to wider urban challenges such as providing effecting cooling islands and hampering the development of urban heat islands. Through close cooperation with the public authorities, the project also includes, in its final version, green spaces in its center, providing cooling in a region that will soon be heavily impacted by climate change.
Civil society, through the involvement of Public authorities, has therefore been actively involved in every stage of the design and implementation of the project and was further instrumental in establishing an innovative local solution to a number of global challenges.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
This project, in this very conception and objectives, is innovative. While timber-based constructions have been around for as long as humanity has been able to build its own accommodation, the use of wood at this scale, in the building of a tower 55 meters high was never before performed.
This ambition led to a number of technical challenges. There were no technical building codes covering timber construction, which allowed to use of wooden fronts and structures. A number of administrative procedures were therefore required to obtain a technical evaluation of experimentations which allowed for the use of these solutions.
In the end, the project led to the patenting of multiple solutions, including a patent on a non-weight-bearing front that is hanged from the structure. Further, as the construction of the building uses modular solutions, the structure of outsourced modules was also subject to novel patents, including a patent on a low-carbon solution based on timber.
One of the largest technical challenges posed by the construction of low-carbon alternative modules in the context of a large-scale project was the effect of weather on the outer parts of the building. Balconies, which were required in the construction as the project aimed at uncompromising comfort in a low-carbon building, were a central focus of this question. Indeed, a balcony situated more than 50 meters high needs to have high wind resistance, and be able to sustain extreme weather over time. The technical conception was therefore a long and arduous process to create a light yet resistant structure which could fulfill those criteria.
Other innovations also enabled the creation of reliable timber industry. For instance, a traceability label was created which allowed for the reliable sourcing and transformation of local timber.
All these innovations combined allowed for a verifiable impact on the building's carbon footprint. To that end, the building obtained several low-carbon labels.&n
Learning transferred to other parties
While this project was focused on real estate development, it fits in a much wider context that overlaps that of most - if not all - economic sectors. Indeed, this project's primary aim was to demonstrate the capacity of European corporations and businesses to cooperate, in order to reindustrialise Europe by providing effective solutions to the global challenges we are all facing.
The management of this project was based on continually researching opportunities for the creation and the acceleration of new and existing synergies in the local and regional economy. Synergies exist in all sectors of the economy, especially in a current reality where territoriality and corporations are no longer linked.
The main principle here was that of continuous improvement. The design and conception phase alone took years. The value-added in the project lied in continuous cooperation and co-design between all the actors involved. The management was not vertical but rather horizontal, with each craft bringing its block to the edifice.
The results of this project speak for themselves. The carbon footprint of this development was nearly halved, new social accommodation was developed, in the same location as new conventional units which led to social mixing. One month after completion, the building had reached nearly 90% occupancy. In addition, new businesses were created, a new industrial ecosystem was birthed, utilizing bio-based resources long overlooked in our economy.
These outcomes demonstrate the European capability of answering effectively to the global challenges we are faced with. The long-described principles of continuous improvement, responsible sourcing, synergy building, combined with a vision that corresponds with the ambitions we set for ourselves can achieve the impacts we strive to create.
