• On the occasion of the 2024 Olympic Games, the City of Paris is investing 136 million euros in the construction of an Arena at Porte de La Chapelle.

  • The project has two objectives: hosting Olympic events, and breaking the ring road barrier with Seine-Saint-Denis.

  • The site aims to be a model of low-carbon construction.

Faster, higher, stronger.

This is the motto of the Olympics.

That of the future Arena de La Chapelle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, could be "greener, warmer, closer".

From this 136 million euro project, a 9,000-seat sports hall will emerge where badminton (Olympic and Paralympic), rhythmic gymnastics and para-weightlifting events will be held.

And it is a sustainable building model both in management and in execution that is announced.

So often the ecological promises can be only a facade, it is clear that efforts have been made to respect this environmental constraint.

More than 95% of the 944 tonnes of waste produced by the site was recycled.

The site also has its own concrete batching plant, making it possible to avoid the incessant truck trips.

The concrete produced, "low carbon", is found on 45% of the gray mass of the site.

A process which, according to Medhi Moeket, Bouygues Construction works manager, would have avoided the emission of 1,300 tonnes of CO2.

The materials used in the construction of the Arena are also chosen for their ecological virtues.

There are more than 400 tons of wood on site, both in the framework and in the insulation.

For spectator seats, 7,800 of the 9,000 seats are directly produced from 70 tonnes of local plastic waste.

Part of the non-load-bearing walls (300 m2) are created from raw earth brick, a carbon-neutral resource.

The Arena should also be dressed in a coat of 1,800 m2 of solar panels, to ensure part of its energy independence.

Breaking down the “perimeter wall”

The room will be a real “urban pile”.

In its bowels hides a "cathedral", a gigantic machine room which is a geothermal air conditioning centre.

This method was chosen because it is inexpensive in terms of energy, but also because it gives off inevitable, “fatal” heat, in the words of Christophe Rosa, director of the Paris construction sites for the 2024 Olympic Games. This “fatal heat will be redirected as heating to neighboring homes with a zero carbon footprint.

The Olympics represent an opportunity for the City of Paris to break down this "peripheral wall" which separates the capital from Seine-Saint-Denis, according to Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sport and the Games.

After these, the room should host Paris Basketball but also concerts.

Alongside the "great room" are also planned two gymnasiums for the students of the district who, as a symbol, will be the first to use these infrastructures, from 2023.

And to meet the requirements of compactness and multifunctionality of the town hall, the architects decided to include in the Arena 2,000 m2 of restaurants, shops and cafés, as well as a mid-height terrace of 3,000 m2.

The complex will therefore serve as a sports and entertainment hall, training ground and shopping centre.

Faster, higher, stronger, more adaptable.

Paris

A petition against the naming by Adidas of the Arena at the Porte de La Chapelle

Sport

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  • Olympic Games

  • Paris

  • ecology

  • Ile-de-France

  • Paris 2024