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REGAIN is a programme we have registered with six partners
within the framemork of the North West Europe INTERREG programmes
These partners are business park managers, public authorities
who want to promote sustainable construction of buildings
with low energy or passive design principles
devoted to industries or service industries
BEP is the development agency
our main product is the region itself
a province with 450,000 inhabitants
We manage industrial parks and build incubators that host businesses.
SIZIAF is an intercommunal agency comprising 20 municipalities near Lens
We manage an industrial park specialising in the secondary sector
We are responsible for the infrastructure and commercial development
The partners have decided that they will each construct a pilot building of 1000-2000 sq.m.
Three of the pilots are brand new buildings, the Scottish pilot is a refurbishment
obviously, we are trying to learn collective lessons
and to communicate, to share our feedback
then, we have chosen two partners which have particular expertise
Envipark allows us to benchmark the four pilots
Environment Park is a technology park in Turin
for new technology and sustainable energy
this experience consits in
delivering economic and industrial objectives
for small and medium sized businesses in a sustainable development context
The Envipark benchmark expertise has allowed comparisons
during the three phases of the building : design, construction and occupation.
The partner with communications expertise is Palme
Palme is based on two strong ideas
First of all it is to bring people together
and secondly it is sharing.
Palme is a French company
consisting of public authorities and metropolitan areas
or municipal communities, together with developers, contractors and estate management companies.
With the REGAIN project,
Palme is transferring its national networking expertise
to the wider European area
through the creation of links between the different project partners
in order to share the knowledge of each participant
and to make this knowledge available for anyone interested
in energy efficient buildings in Business Parks
It is important for us to pilot projects like this
for various reasons
Firstly
we are a public agency
and we have a mission to implement demonstration projects
to encourage private businesses
to take into consideration the challenge of low energy buildings
One of the main objectives of REGAIN
is communication
to show businesses that it is feasible.
It is a higly visible pilot building
encouraging private businesses to do the same
Our tenants speak to other businessmen
and share with them
the benefits of a low carbon building.
We have seen other buildings that were not suitable for our requirements.
As soon as we were aware of the construction of the REGAIN pilot
we realised that its characteristics were exactly what we were looking for.
What is interesting in this European co-operation is
the exchange of different methodologies, technical requirements.
This cooperation with European partners
stimulates creativity and responsiveness to new issues.
At the very core of REGAIN
we have this idea of sustainable development which is promoted by Europe
and also very important for our territory
We wanted to further develop some ideas related to the sustainable development concept.
The Interreg IVB program has given us an opportunity to do it.
There are many European programs allowing for exchange of experience.
Their main achievements are reports and seminars.
But Interreg IVB allows for demonstration small scale investments.
Thanks to the four pilots that have been built we have a lasting legacy of our common achievements.
We hope that future EU programs will continue to support demonstration investments
because they encourage discussions between partners who can compare their results.
The European program has brought us two key elements.
Firstly the subsidy has allowed us to go much futher
in terms of technical achievements
and secondly we have learned a lot through the exchange of experience with partners.
We have had a lot of interactions with our partners in the design phase.
We realized together that a global design was crucial.
A good overall design is the key to avoiding technical solutions which are costly in terms of energy and maintenance
The main characteristic of the REGAIN building is its eco-design.
The design group took the time
to improve the project taking into consideration the three sides of the sustainable development.
The economic side : the building has been delivered at normal market price.
the environmental side with eco materials and high levels of energy efficiency.
The social side, in taking into consideration the needs of the tenants and users.
When we had the choice between different materials,
we tried to base decisions on the global life cycles of the materials including the possibility of recycling.
It's a new way of designing a building.
A crucial moment I remembered very well was when we wrote on the blackboard
all the possible materials with their advantages and disadvantages including their production methods.
We worked together with a large team at the design and conception phases long before I drew the first sketch
The design phase took much longer than in an ordinary building.
That's the signature of this REGAIN building.
It was an enriching experience, as we were involved at the very beginning
in the discussions about the best use of the plot of land.
In the pre-design phase we have had in-depth exchanges beetwen the three architects in competition.
We took more care of the details and the way the building "functions".
This extra time dedicated to design
allows for a better integration of water, mobility and lighting issues.
For instance, we took a lot of care to maximize the natural lighting of the building.
We were interested in innovation
and we chose materials that were not yet officially sanctioned in France.
As a builder, we took the risk to use materials
without the ten-year guarantee, not well known in France but already used in other countries.
We have determined objectives, for instance, we decided not to use air conditioning
and to rely on a single boiler with central regulation to heat the building.
We also have tried to offer biodiversity in an industrial park.
The partnership has brought us a lot, especially cooperation with French and UK experts.
We have shared experience in the technical but also in the administrative field,
for instance, the SIZIAF decided to contract the work to many different SMEs
while BEP worked with a single general contractor
Yes, we decided to divide the work into 13 separate contracts,
and some contractors had even sub-contractors.
As a result local SMEs, quite near to the site have worked on REGAIN.
For most of them, it was the first opportunity to work on an Energy Efficient building.
When you are the first locally to build this kind of building,
you realise that the contractors are not accustomed to these new materials.
Naturally, you are faced with technical issues.
the difficulties we have faced during the construction is a crucial learning experience
for all those who subsequently embark on this kind of building.
REGAIN has allowed me to redesign my methodology.
Before my main job was designing a building,
but with REGAIN I had much deeper interractions with the technical team
It was important for us that beyond the architecture of the building itself,
we took into consideration its function and the way the users will occupy the building.
I would speak of the building as an intelligent building
that requires intelligent users.
The way the tenants will use the building will determine its maximum performance.
We have created a User Guide in which you will find the philosophy behind the project,
the design and technical choices we have made and the reasons why they have been made.
Communication and raising awareness have been an important part of the project.
We have organized professional days
dedicated to the construction professionals.
During these professional days the visitors could meet and discuss with the architect
and the contractors involved in the construction as they were all invited.
We have had the most interesting technical discussions in Turin,
while designing a common Sustainable Building Tool with Envipark.
Actually, the aim of SBtool is to use a unique methodology
to guide the building design
to validate the elements in accordance with international standards
that take into account geographical and climatic particularities of the pilots
and also the national and local regulations of each partner.
The SBTool assessment methodology
is a guide to take into consideration every issue
related to a sustainable development
and the global SBTool methodology gives you an insight into the global sustainability of the project.
Therefore we can raise specific issues while choosing the materials.
It is very important that the global assessment of the building
will be made after the construction as well.
The building is equiped with sensors.
We have worked with the University of Artois
The university has designed the post occupancy assessment of the building,
they check the global energy consumption, the proper functioning of the sensor equipment.
They also assess the comfort of the building in terms of temperature, humidity, lighting and air quality.
We have learned collectively and for BEP as lead partner
it was an enriching and learning experience for our team.
We have the feeling that we also learned in terms of administrative qualifications
as EU programs have very specific administrative requirements.
We know that the EU programs are an important source of funding
and we need to be qualified for the administrative and financial duties as well.
The more building programmes in Europe like REGAIN, the greater the benefits for everyone.
We have been working together for five years,
even more than that with the time dedicated to the preparation of the project.
it helps to create a network of people in four different countries.
We have had the opportunity to confront different visions
even if we don't have the same initial background.
Personally this co-operation reinforces my belief
that Europe is necessary to make people work together.
This is more than a philosophy, this is a live experience with real people.
Working together has allowed us to go further,
this is the real objective of an European program.
REGAIN has caused BEP's architects to develop their expertise
possibly also with the renovation of older buildings or again with the constuction of new buildings.
This technical expertise may be and will be used for other projects.