Sustainable building
ZINC and environmental certification
In France, Moulins junior high school in Lille received HEQ certification, demonstrating yet again the pertinence of VMZINC solutions to meet current sustainable building requirements.
The school is fragmented into several blocks that respond to each other. The openings between the different entities overlook the city. The complex is unified by its zinc skin in preweathered PIGMENTO red, which forms a symbolic urban signal both for the facility and the neighbourhood, creating a ring around a central south-facing yard. Two parts of the building stand out: the ground floor, whose activity is aimed at pedestrians, with its plays on transparency and delineation of the facility’s floor space; and the upper part, which is treated as a topography and makes it possible to identify the three fundamental elements of the programme: the school, the gym and the living quarters for boarder pupils.
A ring of plants crowns the entire roof in the school yard and provides great visual comfort, for both users and local residents. This raised garden blends with other, more urban, zinc roofs.
Architect: Chartier Dalix Architectes – Co-Architect: AVANTPROPOS Architectes – Installer: Genty
What are the environmental issues on which you worked as a priority?
Our work focused on 5 targets of the HEQ approach, for which we received a “Highly Effective” evaluation:
Target 1: The quality of the building’s insertion into its context: different access for pedestrians/vehicles, a subtle relationship with neighbouring buildings, enhancement of the site at the entrance to the city, car park shared between the school and the gym, good accessibility for people with reduced mobility, creation of greater areas with plants in the soil compared to the initial state of the site.
Target 3: Low environmental disturbance during construction: green work site charter, monitoring of consumption during construction, sorting of waste on-site before evacuation, distribution of a newsletter to local residents, dedicated telephone line to manage feedback on any disturbance...
Target 4: Energy management: effective urban heating of the envelope, LED lighting, double flow CMV, Héliopac system for the production of hot water, recovery of energy on grey water, PAC for staff housing...
Target 5: Water management: hydro-economising equipment with controlled flow, estimations of consumption, rainwater management on the plot via seepage or recovery...
Target 7: Maintenance/Durability: the choice of construction materials, including zinc, easily accessible technical spaces integrated in the construction, technical management of the building with delayed consumption and monitoring of state of AHUs (Air Handling Units)...
What is the building’s level of energy performance?
The overall energy performance of the building is 30% higher than what is required by French regulations. The entire design of the building was examined to achieve energy consumption of 52.1 kWh ep/m² Srt, i.e. almost 40% less than the typical consumption for this type of building.
What environmental reasons led you to specify rolled zinc for this building.
Several reasons led us to choose zinc. The surface aspect of VMZINC’s PIGMENTO red facilitated the building’s integration with a colour that is consistent with those of the surrounding buildings. The durability of the material and the fact that it is maintenance-free also made it appealing. The possibility of installing zinc on both the roof and facade using traditional techniques with a timber substructure was also taken into account as it increased the quantity of wood used in the project.
