Hoche Eco-district

As assistant project manager of the EPA (public planning establishment) Seine-Arche in the Hoche district of Nanterre, Atelier Frank Boutté participated in the programming of one of the first eco-districts in France which included, among other things, the installation of a wood boiler and an energy loop supplying the entire district. 

The energy goal was unfortunately impeded by the enforcement of the BBC (Energy Efficient Building) label which sets low levels of energy consumption and conditions on housing assistance and tax credits. A commendable approach in principle, except that the energy supplier interested in investing in a district heating system no longer benefits from economic equilibrium—the announced consumption of the buildings means it is no longer economically viable—and the developer with its sights on building the district needs tax relief for buyers and landlords housing assistance for tenants. A lose-lose situation.

But then a solution was found: sharing the energy loop and the biomass boiler with the neighboring Komarov social housing project and getting the authorization for new dwellings to up their energy consumption, allowing the EPA, by equalizing the land development charges, to begin financing the program. The memo addressed to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which supervised the EPA, defended a “regional” carbon footprint, factoring in the extended Hoche and Komarov scope, five times better than that assessed on the original operation made up exclusively of new hyper-virtuous buildings within the Hoche perimeter alone. The argument hit the mark, and the Ministry authorized the EPA and the developers to apply a tailored calculation rule to satisfy the interests of each party. Hoche now supplies the Komarov estate and the buildings in the district with 100% renewable energy, owners are able to get tax relief, and landlords are able to fulfil their public duty.