The Arsenal tower, designed by the Elithis design office, is inaugurated this Thursday, October 5 on avenue Jean-Jaurès. This building should help fight global warming by producing more energy than it consumes. A new example of sustainable urban planning which could well inspire many architects.
60 meters high, 1161m² of office space, 59 housing units and a positive energy balance. This is the promise carried by the brand new Arsenal tower built on rue Jean-Jaurès in Dijon.
To enable this feat, the architect Arte Carpenter has integrated into its plans all the latest innovations in town planning. This starts with the production of 124 megawatt hours annually thanks to 500 solar panels arranged on the facade and roof of the building.
Thus, the building must produce more electricity than it consumes. “This is the vocation of the group. Our philosophy from the start has been to fight against climate change by achieving this energy balance”, explains Thierry Bièvre at the head of the Elithis group. Domestic hot water and heating for the tower are provided by the biomass heat network of the metropolis of Dijon.
The Arsenal tower in Dijon seen from above. Photovoltaic panels are placed at the top to produce energy and minimize the tower’s climate impact. • © Elithis
And to use less energy, here too the project managers have thought of everything. The building envelope, for example, maximizes the effects of the wind by perforating the north axis with a simple edge. The building’s ventilation and glass wool insulation were also designed to be the most efficient in terms of energy consumption. “The idea is that it does not have a thermos effect as we have seen in other modern constructions. The humidity-controlled ventilation will make it possible to adapt to the outside temperature“, explains the CEO of the Elithis group.
Likewise, the building was built to capture natural energies. The large bay windows which occupy almost a third of the structure’s living space allow residents to capture as much sun and light as possible to avoid overheating in winter and having to turn on the lights.
This is also what convinced Eugénie and Maxime to settle there. Originally from Reims, the couple was keen on this equipment. “The idea was to be able to be comfortable when it’s cold while having lots of light.”
A rooftop at the top of the Arsenal tower offers residents a breathtaking view of the Dijon metropolitan area • © France Télévisions
A bill six times cheaper than the average
Because these virtuous developments for the planet were especially designed for those primarily concerned, namely the occupants of this new tower. The management of heating, lighting, blinds and electrical outlets can be fully controlled via a home automation application compatible with smartphones. A solution that allows residents to better control their individual consumption. “A little extra” for Eugénie happy to live in a building “at the cutting edge of technology.”
A plus also for Clément, 21, who is also moving in these days with his partner. The young man is counting on this modernity to save money on his next energy bills. According to Elithis, thanks to the architecture of the tower, households would only have to pay around twenty euros per month to pay their energy bill, or six times less than the average French person. “For now my supplier has given me an estimate of fifty euros. Whatever happens, I shouldn’t have any unpleasant surprises given the modernity of the building”, wants to believe this Dijonnais.
Tenants could even make money, or almost. In fact, Elithis wants to encourage the virtuous behavior of residents by offering a bonus of up to 150 euros per year for those who have good environmental practices. Enough to make future tenants dream, a few apartments remain up for grabs but this may not last very long.
The model, in any case, could flourish: a hundred towers like this have already been ordered from the Dijon group.
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