2024 Paris Olympic Village Prefabricated Apartments Project

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I. A Century's Evolution: From Spartan Quarters to Sustainable Legacy​​

 1.Historical Context: Paris pioneered the Olympic Village concept in 1924, dismantled post-Games. A century later, the 2024 Village is conceived as a permanent ecological legacy.

2.Core Pledge: Achieve 50% lower carbon emissions than previous Villages, transforming into a post-Games eco-district housing 6,000 residents (mix of homes, shops, parks).

3.Strategic Siting: Built on a regenerated industrial wasteland in Seine-Saint-Denis (Paris’ northern suburb). Repurposed facilities include a converted power station serving as the 3,500-capacity main dining hall.

​II. Building Revolution: How Prefabrication Redefined Construction

    1.​Industrialized Manufacturing:​​

 ​Efficient construction: In order to complete such a large building complex (with a construction area of approximately 400000 square meters) within a tight deadline (with the main project starting in early 2020 and officially completed and delivered in March 2024), the Paris Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and project developers (mainly a consortium composed of three large French real estate investment management companies Icade, CDC Habitat, and Eiffage Immobilier responsible for development and construction) have adopted prefabricated modular building technology on a large scale.

 ~70% Prefabrication Rate: Primary structures, staircases, and fully outfitted "modular bathroom pods" were factory-built, After these prefabricated components (including walls, floors, stairs, and even the entire bathroom unit with internal decoration "modular sanitary cabin") are produced, they are transported to the Olympic Village site located in the northern suburbs of Paris (Seine Saint Denis department) for efficient assembly (lifting, connection, sealing).Enabling on-site assembly of 82 buildings in just 39 months.​​

 Low-Carbon Materials:​​

· ​​Timber (20,000 m³): Structurally integrated columns/beams act as ​​carbon sinks.

· ​​Low-Carbon Concrete (90,000 tons): Significantly reduced embodied carbon.

· ​​Circular Components: Recycled steel lamps, mattresses from reclaimed fishing nets, cardboard furniture (250kg load capacity).

     2.Reversible Architecture:​​

 ​​Seamless Games-to-Legacy Conversion:​​

     1.Predominantly twin-share athlete rooms feature demountable partition walls for post-Games reconfiguration into family apartments/student housing.

     2.During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Olympic Village serves as a centralized residential area for approximately 14500 athletes and delegation officials.

After the competition, the overall transformation will be into a new ecological community (Seine Saint Denis department) with about 2800 households, including student apartments, family homes, office spaces, commercial facilities, parks and green spaces, and complete public service facilities. 

III. Zero-Carbon Innovation: Cooling Without Conventional AC

 ​Cutting-Edge Thermal Management:​​

 Geothermal Cooling: Water drawn from the Seine circulates through pipes for 6-10°C indoor-outdoor differential.

 Passive Design Strategies: Light-colored paving reflects sunlight; ​​8,000 newly planted trees + rooftop gardens (covering 1/3 of buildings) mitigate heat island effect.

 Renewable Integration: Solar panels blanket ⅓ of rooftops (≈1.8 football fields).

 Performance Metrics: 30% lower energy consumption than French standards; 100% renewable energy during operations.

IV. The core of sustainability and ecological design:​​

·    1. Green building materials: Mandatory use of environmentally friendly, localized, or short distance transportation low-carbon building materials (such as low-carbon concrete, certified wood).

2. Low carbon design:

· Implicit carbon control: By using wood and low-carbon concrete, carbon emissions during the production and transportation of building raw materials are reduced (i.e. implicit carbon).

· Running Carbon: After the competition, the community will achieve zero carbon emissions operation. The average energy consumption of all buildings in the Olympic Village is 30% lower than the energy-saving standards set by France in 2005.

· Renewable energy: Widely using solar photovoltaic panels (the total installed area of the Olympic Village is equivalent to 1.8 football fields), and using geothermal energy for heating and cooling.

· Natural ventilation and lighting: Optimize building orientation, layout, and window design to maximize the use of natural light and ventilation.

· Zero disposable air conditioning: mainly relies on innovative ground source heat pump systems, building automation management systems (BMS), and high standard insulation design to achieve comfortable temperature control.

3. Biodiversity and Green Plants:

· Retain a large number of existing trees on the site and plant a large number of local plants.

· Design green roofs, sky gardens, and ground level ecological parks to increase biodiversity.

· Utilize natural vegetation systems for rainwater management (such as infiltration ground, retention ponds).

· 4. Water resource management: equipped with rainwater collection system for green plant irrigation, promoting the use of water-saving appliances.

· 5. Circular Economy and Reversible Design (Core Innovation):

· Flexible transition during/after the competition: This is one of the most prominent features. The building structure is designed to be detachable and reconfigurable.

· The space used as a bedroom during the competition (modular room) can be easily transformed into an apartment suitable for family living after the competition (by breaking through walls) or a student dormitory (by retaining or reorganizing partitions). Some internal lightweight partitions are even designed to be movable.

· The foundation and main structures (columns, beams, floors) are permanent fixed structures, but the flexibility of connecting nodes and internal spaces allows for a wide range of functional reorganization. ​​

· Long term legacy: This design ensures that the Olympic Village will not be "abandoned" or used only as a "disposable" facility, but rather become a comprehensive residential area with long-term vitality that meets the needs of the local community.

V. By the Numbers: The "Paris Formula" for Event Legacy​​

​VI. Global Blueprint: Why Paris Redefined Olympic Legacy​​

The benchmark for sustainable development: This project is one of the most sustainable Olympic villages in history, setting new environmental standards for future large-scale events.

Case study of industrial transformation in construction: The successful application of prefabrication and modularization technology on a large scale has proven its advantages in high efficiency, high quality, and environmental protection in large and complex projects.

Demonstration of Urban Renewal: Integrating Olympic investment with addressing the long-standing housing shortage and social integration issues in the Seine Saint Denis region, promoting regional upgrading.

The practice of reversible design: Its smooth and low-carbon transformation mode from accommodation for large-scale events to community functions provides important ideas for solving the "white elephant" problem.

In summary, the Paris 2024 Olympic Village project goes far beyond the simple concept of "prefabricated apartments". It is a complex that integrates cutting-edge industrial construction technology, breakthrough sustainable design concepts (especially low-carbon materials and zero operating emissions), and revolutionary "reversibility" heritage planning strategies. The core goal of this project is not only to successfully host the Olympic Games, but also to set a world-class example for future low-carbon sustainable city construction and large-scale event heritage management.