ABC – Autonomous Building for Citizens

• Land: Composed of two compact, terraced buildings of 4 to 8 storeys, the density of the project limits the artificialisation of the land. The absence of parking spaces also avoids any superfluous artificialisation, and allows users to benefit from bicycle rooms.
• Biodiversity: the residence includes 360 m2 of shared gardens, run by the association “Cultivating our roofs ” and intended for residents.
• Water resources: the objective is to reduce water consumption by a factor of 3. To achieve this: Rainwater is collected from the 1130 m2 of roof space and treated for drinking water. In addition, clean grey water is recycled for the toilets and for watering the outdoor plants. Finally, hydro-economic equipment is used to reduce consumption, in particular an recycling shower (designed by Orbital). This system is based on a water treatment plant set up by Suez teams.

The result: a reduction of more than 2/3 in the consumption of water from the city’s network.

The construction uses Vicat low-carbon concrete to limit the carbon impact of the construction.

Weber cork insulation has been used in a logic of bio-sourced materials.

An E+C- (E3 C1) LCA analysis was conducted.

The building has an ambitious target of 70% annual energy autonomy:

– The residence includes a solar farm with 688 photovoltaic panels (1130m²). The electricity produced by the solar farm, managed by GEG ENeR, is stored in batteries so that it is available in the evening, when the residents are in their homes;

– Part of the energy needed by the inhabitants is also recovered from the water

Grey water: heat recovery.

– The energy released by the batteries is also recovered by a heat pump.

The project aims at energy passivity: BEPOS all uses. 60 kWh/year/m²SHAB all uses.

In addition, various technical devices lead to a sober operation:

• Triple glazing
• Individual and collective double-flow ventilation
• Lancey battery radiators
• Recycling showers
• Application for monitoring consumption

Pre-equipment of kitchens with A+++ appliances

The mechanisms mentioned in the previous paragraph enable energy efficiency to be applied to the building’s operation.

In addition, the building has individual meters for each accommodation: hot and cold water meters, grey water meters, electricity meters for each household appliance, in order to evaluate the consumption of the inhabitants as closely as possible. An assessment of the technical results and actual usage is then regularly carried out during two steering committees per year for five years.

The involvement of the residents plays a central role in the success of this residence, which has been designed as a real demonstrator. In the long term, its operation depends on their commitment and the ability of the community to adopt new ways of living in terms of energy management, waste sorting, travel and living together.

To this end, Grenoble Habitat has set up a specific awareness-raising program from the marketing phase onwards, supported by Linkcity’s teams, through the organisation of information meetings, open house events, visits to showcase homes, and time to discover the facilities in order to encourage future residents to adopt the ABC concept.

This support approach carried out by Grenoble Habitat will continue in 2021 and 2022:

– deployment of training sessions for the inhabitants to get to handle the installations;

– participative workshops led by the teams of Grenoble Habitat and the Pop-Corn workshop, specialized in the support of inhabitants. The aim is to guide and support residents in reducing their consumption, sorting waste and encouraging the co-construction of collective actions;

– animation and assistance in the use of the 360 m2 of shared gardens with the association “Cultivating our roofs” for all residents;

– 50 m2 educational showroom explaining the ABC concept, freely available to the inhabitants of the demonstrator and accessible to all during visits organised by the City of Grenoble;

– a digital application, developed by Bouygues Construction teams, that allows each resident to monitor the consumption of their home and the behavior of their building in real time on their smartphone. Sensors measure building performance in real time.

Comprising 42 intermediate and 20 social housing dwellings as well as an Innovia neighbourhood facility, the project promotes social and functional diversity to a certain extent. In addition, the 50 m2 educational showroom project explaining the ABC concept, freely accessible to the inhabitants of the implemented project and accessible to all as part of the visits organised by the City of Grenoble.

The project includes 42 intermediate housing units and 20 social housing units operated by Grenoble Habitat, and is therefore aimed directly at vulnerable populations.

In order to support the most vulnerable inhabitants, a support approach carried out by Grenoble Habitat will continue in 2021 and 2022:

– Deployment of training sessions for residents to get to grips with the equipment;

– participative workshops led by the teams of Grenoble Habitat and the Pop-Corn workshop, specialised in the accompaniment of the inhabitants. The aim of these workshops is to guide and support residents in reducing their consumption and sorting waste and to encourage the co-construction of collective actions;

A sociological survey of residents is being carried out in 2021 by Bouygues Buildings to assess feedback and possible improvements, but the results are not yet available.

Work is also being carried out in conjunction with the University of Grenoble to assess changes in user behaviour in terms of energy use and consumption.

When the project was launched in 2014, the resilience diagnosis was not planned to our knowledge. The ABC project is designed to mitigate climate change (carbon footprint, GHGs, water withdrawal: drying up of water tables).

A study carried out in 2014-2015 enabled a diagnosis of the local production potential. The potential of the site for different renewable energies was evaluated: solar, wind, hydro, cogeneration system, biomass. The modes of renewable energy production were adopted to the local deliverable by selecting the solar production

The project contributes to social dynamism through the emulation of the local social life through different means:

• Workshops with the inhabitants, emulation, vegetable garden (social network)
• A shared room located in the building is made available to the city by the SEM to organise cultural and associative activities;
• The shared gardens are intended for a shared activity between the inhabitants;
• A showroom is made available to the building’s inhabitants to organise meetings;

In addition, the project’s stakeholders wanted to respond to a need to support users in the life of the buildings, the shared gardens and the shared premises. The POP CORN workshop acts as an interface between the residents and the building managers. These missions were built by iteration with Grenoble Habitat, which is experimenting with the skills of an AMU in order to implement social innovations. The POP CORN workshop was commissioned for 5 years, from the start of the works until 2 years after the delivery of the building. A monitoring and evaluation process for these actions will then be put in place.

In 2014, the project mobilised creativity and focus group sessions with a representative panel of future inhabitants in order to test innovations upstream, and to test their degree of acceptability, as these innovations have an impact on everyday behaviour.

In addition, the participation in the project of the State, different levels of local public governance (municipality, intercommunality, region), and private companies (Bouygues Building in particular) demonstrated the possibility for these actors to innovate jointly in the service of an ambitious demonstrator.

The ABC demonstrator in Grenoble is designed to test replicable devices in future projects

• Educational booklets have been produced for this purpose.

The monitoring of technical results and uses during 2 steering committees per year for 5 years allows to build a solid base of experience feedback in order to prepare the next steps of the project.