Do eco-friendly districts pave the way for smart territories?

Optimum territory planning

As building space becomes more and more limited, it will be a major challenge to design and develop large neighbourhoods and residential blocks from the perspective of urbanisation, landscaping, mobility and the environment. BG cooperates with town planners, architects and landscapers on this kind of project to develop appropriate solutions.

A pioneering role

Designs for eco-friendly districts are subject to increasingly rigorous specifications. Based on our expertise of sustainable energy concepts, the Group is also able to anticipate demand by exploring the potential for a site to accommodate innovations in the fields of locally-sourced energy production, heat recovery optimisation, network optimisation and efficient lighting management.

Eco-friendly districts and residential blocks are subject to complex planning regulations which affect their capacity to maintain high ecological and living standards. A successful combination of buildings (housing, premises and common facilities, retail outlets, offices and workshops) in new large districts helps to strike a new urban balance.

What needs to be done to turn an eco-friendly district into a sustainable smart city?

An eco-friendly district is like the first building block of a sustainable city.

The BG Group has had the opportunity to design and bring to life several of them, not least the Gruvatiez district in Orbe, and the old paper mill project in Marly. ​​​​​​​

These two districts are certified in accordance with the requirements of OPL (One Planet Living), renamed as SEED. The Gruvatiez district in the plain of the Orbe is an impressive urban development project that has delivered 500 housing units and created 200 jobs. It is the first district in Switzerland to receive WWF’s OPL certification.

The Marly project is still under construction and covers all of the 10 segments specified in the SEED certification (see video on the right). In this case, the measures we take to tackle global warming factor in changing lifestyles. As such, we promote local shops and businesses and integrate new technologies in energy management. Building models are also evolving to promote the storage and reuse of excavated soil locally on site.

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