Location: Lillers, France.

Architect: Carlos Arroyo Arquitectos.

The Madrid-based Carlos Arroyo Architects, in collaboration with local team Ekoa, has designed the first Cradle to Cradle (C2C) building certified in France. The building, called the “Project House” (Maison du Projet), is a seed building for the introduction of the circular economy in the metropolitan area of Lille. The building has a double function: it will be the operational centre for the project, with offices, meeting spaces and a multipurpose room, and it has an exemplary mission to demonstrate that a building can be built following the principles of the circular economy within a normal budget for a public building. The building was constructed according to the principles of C2C, which means that the materials used can be reused. The building has a CLT honeycomb structure, generating two types of spaces: the alveoli on the façade that house rigid programs such as offices, bathrooms, kitchen, etc. on the lower ground, while the upper cells act as warehouses, facilities rooms, etc. The building is powered by clean energy, and the sanitation systems do not generate waste but fertilizer for the vegetation implanted in the environment. The building is equipped with a rainwater collection and storage system, and excess water is led to a pond next to the building. The function of the building as a forum for debate on the circular economy, and at the same time as an example of architecture integrated in it, emphasizes the need to build step by step a new culture that allows us to face the environmental challenges of the coming decades.

Photo credit: ImagenSubliminal.