Accor : Sustainable buildings are popping up like mushrooms

In developing countries also, sustainable buildings are now being built. In Cairo in Egypt, The Gate Residence will be one third un-built green surface. With 1,000 flats, the roof of the complex will be converted into an immense community vegetable garden covered by a solar canopy which will produce the energy to light the communal areas. Hot air will pass underground, where it will be naturally cooled, eliminating the need for mechanical air conditioning. Thousands of kilometres from there, near to New Delhi in India, six 36-storey tree-towers christened 'Hyperion' will be built from timber and covered with market gardens by 2020. On the balconies, hydroponic greenhouses will grow fruit and vegetables and contain organic fish farms raising fish, shellfish and molluscs. In energy terms, the electricity will be provided by wind turbines and the heating will be produced via photovoltaic and thermal solar panels that will clad the tower façades.

Finally, on a completely different, less luxurious note, some buildings are now both ecological and economical. The Solar Hotel, an affordable establishment in Paris, has acquired solar panels to light the façades and water recovery systems for sprinkling. It displays energy saving tips for its customers, facilitates waste sorting, recycles its materials and uses solvent-free paint. Proof that low-cost buildings can also be sustainable!

AccorHotels: towards low carbon and low consumption buildings

To contribute to the massive reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, AccorHotels has begun the transition of its hotel portfolio. And fixing major objectives, as part of its Planet 21 sustainable development program.

First objective: The Group is making the commitment that by 2020 all hotel construction and renovation projects will be low carbon. This requires innovation in construction materials. These must be as economical as possible in terms of carbon when they are manufactured and recyclable at the end of their life cycle. Timber, for example, is particularly virtuous. To reduce its buildings' carbon footprint involves Group hotels engaging decisively in the energy transition, in particular by finding innovative technological solutions.

In this perspective, the Group has established a partnership with Energy Observer, which aims to transform a catamaran into a laboratory for future carbon-free energy. Propelled by electric motors, this hydrogen ship is using a very innovative production chain to cover its needs. Some of these technologies will be put in place in Group hotels in order to reduce their footprint even further.

To meet the target set for 2020, AccorHotels, a founding member of the BBCA Association, has helped draft the Low Carbon Building reference framework to cover the construction of new hotels. In April 2017, AccorInvest opened the building site for the first BBCA-labelled hotel. The JO&JOEbrand establishment, located near to the Paris University halls of residence in Gentilly, will have a big interior garden and planted terraces. The superstructure will be built from glued laminated timber, the energy and digital architecture will give wide scope for innovation and the methodologies will draw inspiration from industry, reducing the building work duration to 13 months and limiting its nuisance.