Five months before the start of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, an Olympic village is already standing in the northern suburbs of the French capital, in the Seine Saint Denis area. It will welcome over 20,000 residents during the big sports holiday and according to the website Czech Olympic team it has 3,000 apartments and 7,200 double rooms prepared for them, while 80 percent of the athletes should only have 30 minutes to the sports fields.
From the beginning, the French have emphasized their efforts to build the Olympic village in such a way that it meets the rules of sustainability, its construction and operation leave only a minimal carbon footprint and, last but not least, that it be fully usable even after the end of the Olympic Games.
The basis was therefore the construction of materials and the use of technologies that are environmentally friendly. The French therefore built from low-carbon concrete, the houses have wooden frames and are heated geothermally. According to the organizers, the village is expected to generate approximately half the carbon emissions during its lifetime compared to what would be generated by buildings built using standard techniques.
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The French also planted many trees in the vicinity of their houses, created green public spaces, and use recycled materials, for example, to manufacture equipment for sports halls.
In their effort to achieve the smallest possible carbon footprint in the operation of the Olympic Village, they decided to design individual buildings so that their apartments would not need to use air conditioning units. And that’s why they didn’t install them there.
No air conditioning or overheating
Of course, according to the agency Reuters quite alarmed some delegations, such as the Greeks and Australians, who plan to provide their own air conditioners and fans for their athletes. They are based on the experience of previous years, when the French metropolis was plagued by heat rising up to 42 °C.
However, the French organizers assure that the buildings are effectively insulated and will be able to maintain low temperatures in the apartment units even during the heat. “We designed these buildings to be a comfortable place to live in the summer, in 2024 and beyond. We don’t need air conditioning in them, because we oriented the facades so that they are not exposed to too much sunlight in the summer. In addition, we used really effective insulation,” assures Deputy Games Organizer Yann Krysinski.
“At the same time, we use naturally cold water that we get from underground to cool the air in the apartments. Therefore, air conditioning will not be needed here in the summer,” he adds.
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Life will go on here
Many organizers of past Olympic Games have faced the problem of not finding a full future use for the Olympic Villages after the Games. The French decided to avoid this by planning the Olympic village from the beginning in such a way that it would be possible to turn the 52-hectare site into a new residential area. Already during the games, the village will have not only gyms, but also non-stop restaurants, a non-alcoholic bar and a post office.
After the games, roughly a third of the 2,800 apartments should be sold. Part will be designated for social housing and the rest is to be reserved for rental housing, including accommodation for students. The new development will also include other facilities in the form of offices, schools, shops and parks.
According to current assumptions, the first residents should start moving into the former village at the end of 2025.
French President Emmanuel Macron officially inspected the Olympic Village at the very end of February. It will be officially opened for athletes on July 12, i.e. exactly two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games.
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