Odyssée Pleyel: The Energy Plug

Energy Plug Saint-Denis

The Energy Plug project involves a "zero-carbon retrofit and extension" of a disused industrial structure covering 15,070 sq. ft.

(1,400 m2) and standing 79 ft. (24 m) high, originally built in the 1930s. Located in the suburban town of Saint-Denis, next to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues, the site hosts a number of major metropolitan projects including a future metro station for the Grand Paris Express.

The building will generate its own renewable energy, becoming entirely self-sufficient and thus carbon-neutral.

Soil excavated from the Grand Paris Express site will be used in the construction process. A new modular structure known as the Energy Plug, entirely made of wood, will harness solar power and enable a system of vertical greenhouses with a double function of growing food and providing passive climate control. The scheme makes use of hybrid photovoltaic and thermal solar cells, rainwater recuperation, and zinc-air batteries for energy storage.

The project will stimulate ecological innovation by hosting scientific workshops, providing space for clean-energy start-up firms, and facilitating educational programs for local schools. A restaurant backed by a social reintegration initiative will provide a welcoming meeting place. The clients for the building are EDF, a French electric utility company, and RAIM. The Energy Plug was a winning project in the C40 Reinventing Cities competition in which nineteen cities across the globe had identified a total of forty-nine under-utilized sites designated for ecologically oriented redevelopment.

Reinventing Cities is a global call for innovative ideas launched by C40, a network of the world's major cities that champion environmental responsibility.

Winner of the ‘C40, Reinventing Cities’ competition

Client EDF, RAIM 

Programme Exhibition areas, climatic greenhouse, office space, conference rooms, restaurant

Team SETEC, Les fermes de Gally, ETIC, Projex, Teckne, EOC