Better development and building

Building a post-carbon business district demands that we reexamine our approachto development, construction, ans renovation, in concert with all the players involved in tranforming the region. To achieve this, Paris La Défense has set itself the following objectives :

Launch a call for innovative and exemplary projects

In 2022, Paris La Défense launched Empreintes, a call for mixed-use, low-carbon urban projects. The aim is to inspire innovative projects that embody the values of Paris La Défense: exemplary in terms of social and environmental impact, architecturally and technically innovative, designed to blend perfectly into the surrounding environment. The laureates have been selected and are currently undertaiking their projects :

• Synapses
• Jean Moulin
• Liberté
• Demi-Lune

Assess projects' social and environmental impact

Paris La Défense will henceforth select real estate projects to be developed in the district based on their energy and environmental performance, in line with its carbon trajectory. Priority will be given to redevelopments rather than demolition-reconstruction operations. Use of bio-sourced and recycled materials, as well as functional diversity, will stand out as decisive criteria. With this in mind, in 2023, Paris La Défense joined Bosster du Réemploi, a community initative aiming to further develop the circular economy by increasing demand for reused construction materials.

Building low-carbon structures

The business district is an exceptional testing ground for constructing low-carbon buildings Paris La Défense and the real estate sector will develop bold projects that make manifest the desire to turn the neighborhood into an innovative district at the forefront of the ecological transition. As a signatory of the Biosourced Wood Pact, Paris La Défense has pledged that all future constructions and renovations will be carried out with 10% biosourced wood (including a minimum of 30% is French wood). The Inspire office building, built with a wood frame, and the Synapses residential project, being built off-site, are remarkable examples.

To discover others low-carbon projects, see the Parc and Michelet development projects in La Défense, the Flora housing project in Les Groues, the mixe-used projects Jean Moulin, Liberté and Demi-Lune, and Lightwell office projects in La Défense.