Faculty of Science

Real Estate Projects on the Triolet Campus (Newsletter #11 – March 2022)

Are we all asking the same questions about Building 6?

– Complete change in the building’s use (currently 4 lecture halls with 250 seats each and tutorial/lab rooms on the ground floor and first floor) -> very high renovation costs (demolishing everything inside, particularly the concrete bleachers in the lecture halls, reinforcing the load-bearing structure to support heavier loads, etc.)
– The building is extremely energy-inefficient (note: the energy retrofit of Building 05 alone cost 11 M€)
– Ultimately, it would be less expensive to demolish this building and construct a new one.

– Asbestos removal completed (mid-November to mid-December 2021)
– Demolition from early January through March 2022 (starting from the center of the building and moving toward the wings)
– Construction of the new building to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 (with construction expected to take at least two years)

– Dust -> Continuous watering of the rubble to minimize the impact
– Noise (machinery, trucks, loading, etc.)
– Vibrations

– The construction site is completely enclosed with opaque barriers along its entire perimeter
– Access for trucks and personnel is restricted to the gate located on the fire lane
– Company personnel have been briefed (work on an occupied site), and a refresher training session was recently conducted

– Wood, steel, and glass materials sent to recycling centers
– Several items recovered by the DPI (spare parts, etc.)
– Concrete crushed on site to be reused as fill material in the construction of the new building’s platform
– The remainder will be sent to a landfill for recovery

– Environmental impact study (fauna, flora, natural habitats) conducted in Triolet in 2011, followed by a second study in 2020–2021 (Building 06 and Buildings 01 through 04) by the consulting firm ECOTONE: ecological assessment based on naturalist surveys to identify wildlife concerns (also used data compiled by GNUM) -> 17 species of concern and/or protected species (birds = 6, bats = 6—the most affected—mammals = 1, reptiles = 4)
– Implementation of impact mitigation and support measures: rescheduling of the construction period, installation of replacement roosts/nest boxes and a wildlife shelter, monitoring of the construction site by an ecologist (with a bat specialist on site)
– submission of a report to the DREAL regarding this operation (pursuant to Art. L.411-2 of the Environmental Code)

And after Building 6…

What will be built to replace this behemoth on the Triolet campus? It took only a few weeks to demolish it and clear away the tons of rubble from this building, which had been home to thousands of students since the 1960s.

You’ll now have to wait until the 2024–25 academic year to find out who will replace him. We’re offering you a sneak peek at some artist’s renderings so you can imagine how the story unfolds and picture what things will be like three years from now.

In the near future, this new four-story Faculty of Sciences building will house the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Computer Science, part of the Department of Physics, part of the Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, and numerous rooms and spaces for students, who will be able to work on a variety of projects under optimal conditions.

This building will also house the Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion Department for students and staff and will provide additional space for the Office of Campus Life to host various activities for the University’s students.

We’ve been promised a functional building with plenty of well-designed rooms and, as the icing on the cake, a terrace with a view next to S’PACE: we can’t wait to see this new building!

Additional real estate projects are planned for next spring. From May through September, the renovation and restructuring of Building 19—which houses the FdS Department of Chemistry—are scheduled to take place.

To be continued…

Interview with Marc Herzlich, Deputy Director of the FdS