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Development
Urban development has
undergone profound changes
in recent years, with the aim
of being more sustainable and
resilient. Nice Écovallée is a
fine example of this, with its
emphasis on both economic
and environmental factors
and its aim of being a life-size
laboratory for experimenting
with such changes. Artelia is
on hand to provide customised
assistance in achieving these
goals.
Nice Méridia
108 I ARTELIA, 10 YEARS OF EXISTENCE, 100 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
of Nice Écovallée (France)
The exciting thing about the Nice Méridia operation is that it is a field for experimentation,
forcing us to display the noblest facet of our work, namely ingenuity. We are fully conversant
in all the technical aspects of this type of urban development - hydraulics, energy, mobility,
bioclimatic architecture, etc. – but we are also capable of going beyond the simple accumulation
of expertise in order to propose an intelligent, comprehensive vision by drawing on the skills of
our general urban development engineers. In doing so we become a genuine trusted partner
who is able to innovate and design solutions that reconcile the needs of the development
programme with exemplary environmental decision-making. In this regard we are assisting
the client, public authority Nice Ecovallée, in three specific sectors: the Nice Méridia urban
technology park, the city’s new international business district, Grand Arénas, and the Coteaux
du Var housing project at Saint-Jeannet.
The idea for Nice Méridia was to avoid creating a single-purpose technology park and instead
build a lively, mixed-use neighbourhood featuring housing, a university faculty, offices and a
tram line in a beautiful landscaped setting between the hillsides along the River Var and the
hills behind Nice. One of the main constraints connected with the site was the risk of flooding
from the Var. The traditional response would have been to build large and costly underground
concrete reservoirs, but, along with development specialists D&A, we adopted an innovative
alternative whereby stormwater is stored in open retention basins integrated into three public
parks right in the heart of the neighbourhood, thus creating a pleasant recreational area. The
basins are designed to store water from a 100-year rainfall event.
This emphasis on creating urban green spaces is also apparent in the design of the Grand
Arénas business district, where the gardens and public spaces are set in an area of historic
and geographical interest. With architects Leclercq Associés and landscape designers Base,
we have used hydraulic modelling to design a business district that will be resilient in the face
of flood risks thanks to the creation of raised “islands” set amidst the city’s spacious parks and
public spaces.
Marion Picquet
Director, Côte d’Azur Region | Urban & Regional Development
ARTELIA, 10 YEARS OF EXISTENCE, 100 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE I 109