Wastewater treatment plant

Concept

On the south bank of the Loire, the Arrault Island water treatment plant benefits from an exceptional landscape environment that inspires a building in osmosis with the surrounding nature.

A preliminary eco-assessment made it possible to assess the environmental impacts and determine the technological orientations to preserve this site of the Loire Valley inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list beyond the current regulatory requirements.

From a sustainable development perspective, the main concern is the environmental integration of the water treatment plant. In osmosis with the surrounding nature, a continuum is established with the wild banks of the river by reproducing them in an effect of landscape mimicry. Between two territories – one still wild, the other controlled by man – the lines of the building and the natural colours of the planted roof borrow from the linear lines of the banks of the Loire made up of strips of spontaneous vegetation and wooded uplands. Particular attention has been paid to the quality and compactness of the technologies implemented so that the equipment is radically erased from the landscape.

Alongside the buildings, that are part of an HQE approach, the landscape design of the spaces makes it possible to manage the constraints related to the future realisation: olfactory disturbance, acoustic pollution, visual disruption.

The conversion of the water treatment plant is accompanied by an educational circuit: to access the plant, visitors use a specially-designed and secure walkway offering a breathtaking view of the site. The glass walls installed in the walls of the technical buildings will enable them to understand the entire water treatment process.

Team

Contracting authority
– Contracting authority: Orléans Métropole
– Assistant contracting authority: Hydratec

Project management
– Representative: Degrémont / Suez Environnement
– Architect: Arte Charpentier (Antonio Frausto, Fernando Castro, Nathalie Leroy)
– Partner: Goes Peron
– Landscaping: T.U.P
– Technical inspection: Qualiconsult
– H&S: Francis Klein
– Operator: Suez Environnement
– SSC: Safege
– Subcontractor of DGT for CE: EBL

Specificities
– Address: Île Arrault 45234 Orléans
– Surface area: 7 600 m² / land : 1 ha

Photo credits: Boegly Grazia