Image: Hyperion building in Bordeaux
As part of the French government’s push for sustainable urban development, President Emmanuel Macron has announced that, by 2022, all new public buildings financed by the state must contain at least 50 per cent wood.
The local government in Paris had already pledged a greater use of wood in new structures for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with all Olympic buildings up to eight storeys high must be of all-timber construction.
“There is no reason that what is possible for the Olympics should not also be possible for ordinary buildings.” said Julien Denormandie, minister for cities and housing. “I am imposing on all the public entities that depend on me and which manage development to construct buildings with material that is at least 50 per cent wood or from bio-sourced material.”
Bordeaux will soon be home to France’s tallest all-timber construction with the completion of a 16-storey, 57 metre tall Hyperion building, designed by Jean Paul Viguier. It has a concrete core housing the lifts and stairs, which is surrounded by a wooden post-and-beam structure, and all the floors and walls are constructed using cross-laminated timber (CLT).