City of arts and Culture

Low energy cultural centre

Besançon with 117,599 inhabitants is the capital city of the Franche-Comté region in Eastern France.

The city of Besançon is also a signatory of the Covenant of Mayors – a voluntary commitment of local and regional authorities to reduce their CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020. This action is an integral part of the city’s Sustainable Energy Action Plan.

The project “City of Arts and Culture” has been developed thanks to the Regional Operational Programme “Franche-Comté”, Priority: “Regional Competitiveness and Employment”.

The new “City of Arts and Culture” is implemented from 2006 to 2012 respecting low energy standards and integrating renewable energy technologies. Designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, this cultural centre hosts the music, dance, theatre Conservatory of Grand Besançon and the Regional Fund for Contemporary Art. It aims to facilitate access to arts and culture for artists and citizens, to support the creativity and research in this field and to go beyond common energy and environmental standards. The project was initiated by the Urban Community of Grand Besançon, the Regional Council of Franche-Comté and the City of Besançon in cooperation with its departmental and national partners.

The center will be the first low energy cultural centre of this size in France certified with the widely recognised performance labels – “Effinergie” and “High Environmental Quality”. It integrates the energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies such as insulation, photovoltaic panels, heat pump, natural ventilation and lighting. Natural materials were selected taking into account their whole life cycle and impact on environ-ment, air quality and user ́s health.

Project coordination:

Urban Community of Grand Besançon, the Regional Council of Franche-Comté and the City of Besançon, in cooperation with its departmental and national partners

More information:

• Project: http://citedesartsetdelaculture.fr
• Operational Programme: http://europe-franche-comte.fr/feder.php
• Find the EU Regional Policy in France: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/
• Find the Managing Authorities in France: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/manage/authority/authority_en.cfm