flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

A housing complex outside Paris is touted as the world’s first fully recycled concrete building

Concrete Technology

A housing complex outside Paris is touted as the world’s first fully recycled concrete building

Holcim, a Swiss provider of sustainable building solutions, has developed a concrete made with recycled construction and demolition waste, recycled wastewater, and rainwater.


By Novid Parsi, Contributing Editor | April 24, 2023
Recygénie - A housing complex outside Paris is touted as the world’s first fully recycled concrete building
To build Recygénie, Holcim will use a concrete it has developed in which all components—cement, aggregates, and water—are made of recycled materials.

Outside Paris, Holcim, a Swiss-based provider of innovative and sustainable building solutions, and Seqens, a social housing provider in France, are partnering to build Recygénie—a 220-unit housing complex, including 70 social housing units. Holcim is calling the project the world’s first fully recycled concrete building. 

To build Recygénie, Holcim will use a concrete it has developed in which all components—cement, aggregates, and water—are made of recycled materials. The organization says its recycled cement has saved about 3,000 tons of natural resources that would have been extracted from quarries. Holcim’s concrete—made with recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste, recycled wastewater, and rainwater—has saved more than 6,000 tons of natural resources. 

“We need to shift gears: from a linear take-make-waste economy to a circular one, to improve living standards for all, while staying within our planet’s limits,” Edelio Bermejo, Holcim’s head of global R&D, said in a statement.

The Recygénie project is part of a renewal program launched by the City of Gennevilliers, located in the northwest suburbs of Paris. The project will offer new and diversified housing—including both social and private housing—as part of a redevelopment of the entire district. 

After creating cement with 20% recycled construction and demolition waste in Switzerland, Holcim has been working to scale the solution across Europe. Holcim says it aims to use fully recycled concrete across all its markets, adapting the solution to local building norms and material availability. In 2022, Holcim recycled 34 million tons of materials, 7 million tons of which were construction and demolition waste—turning these materials into new building solutions and alternative fuels. 

Construction of Recygénie is underway, with completion expected by the end of 2024.

On the Building Team:
Architect: A26 BLM
Owner and developer: Seqens
Engineer: Ingea
Control bureau: Qualiconsult
General contractor: Legendre

Related Stories

| Dec 10, 2011

10 Great Solutions

The editors of Building Design+Construction present 10 “Great Solutions” that highlight innovative technology and products that can be used to address some of the many problems Building Teams face in their day-to-day work. Readers are encouraged to submit entries for Great Solutions; if we use yours, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate. Look for more Great Solutions in 2012 at: www.bdcnetwork.com/greatsolutions/2012.

| Dec 10, 2011

Energy performance starts at the building envelope

Rainscreen system installed at the west building expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.

| Dec 2, 2011

What are you waiting for? BD+C's 2012 40 Under 40 nominations are due Friday, Jan. 20

Nominate a colleague, peer, or even yourself. Applications available here.

| Nov 22, 2011

New Green Matters Conference examines emerging issues in concrete and sustainability

High-interest topics will be covered in technical seminars, including infrared reflective coatings for heat island mitigation, innovative uses of concrete to provide cooling and stormwater management, environmental benefits of polished concrete, and advancements in functional resilience of architectural concrete.

| Nov 16, 2011

CRSI recommends return to inch-pound markings

The intention of this resolution is for all new rollings of reinforcing steel products to be marked with inch-pound bar markings no later than January 1st, 2014. 

| Nov 8, 2011

Transforming a landmark coastal resort

Originally built in 1973, the building had received several alterations over the years but the progressive deterioration caused by the harsh salt water environment had never been addressed.

| Nov 8, 2011

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Moisture-related failures in agglomerated floor tiles

Agglomerated tiles offer an appealing appearance similar to natural stone at a lower cost. To achieve successful installations, manufacturers should provide design data for moisture-related dimensional changes, specifiers should require in-situ moisture testing similar to those used for other flooring materials, and the industry should develop standards for fabrication and installation of agglomerated tiles.

| Nov 2, 2011

CRSI’s Manual of Standard Practice now available

This resource contains information on recommended industry practices for estimating, detailing, fabricating, and placing reinforcing steel for reinforced concrete construction. 

| Nov 1, 2011

Holcim awards winners for North America announced

A socio-architectural project to create regional food-gathering nodes and a logistics network in Canada's high arctic territory won the top prize for North America of $100,000.

| Oct 14, 2011

ACI partners with CRSI to launch new adhesive anchor certification program

Adhesive anchor installer certification required in new ACI 318-11.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021