Groupe Chronos

The new town hall in the City of Montpellier embodies a spirit of Livable Cities though: community, sustainability, and accessibility. "We wanted to renew the genus of this place and give an aspect of urban conviviality that this generation has lost sight of," explained Urbanist and Architect Mr. François Fontès. The project, which has already broken ground, will relocate the city's town hall from the historic center to the Southeastern banks of the Lez River and be open to occupants in 2011.

Community
By housing the majority of town offices under one roof, the city will reduce unnecessary trips and theoretically open the lines of communication between governmental offices. This construction project, however, is more than just a new town hall; it is in fact an entire neighborhood. For Urbanist and Architecht Jean Nouvel, "The notion of a togetherness - public spaces, commerce, and housing," is the most striking attribute of the project. The vast 6,000 m2 public square will be lined by retail stores and 250 new housing units, 50 of which dedicated to low-income residents.

Sustainability
Montpellier has every interest to use its greatest resource - solar energy. With 1,300 m2 of photovoltaic pergolas, the future town hall is estimated to produce approximately 20% of its electricity needs while blocking the direct sun rays in the summer months. Due to a heavy dependence on natural lighting and natural ventilation, the building has the prospect of creating an excellent quality work environment. "The city's commitment to building a High Qualified Environmental town hall demonstrates an exciting change in politics towards sustainable cities. Home owners can follow the city's lead by taking advantage of large subsidies from ADEME and the Hérault region, before sustainability requirements are imposed." says Mathieu Moliner, co-founder of Smalt Energie.

Accessibility
Montpellier seems to understand that Sustainable transportation is critical to good real estate development. With a booming increase in demographics (9.86% annually, which is 4.88% higher than the national French average), Montpellier needed to take into account the increased use of the city's infrastructure. They are therefore simultaneously breaking ground on a third tramline to service the East-West demands. Trams, however, won't be the only way to access the new municipal hub. They will compliment the city's bike-sharing (VéloMagg') and car-sharing (Modulauto) services. Work is underway to expand bike paths and a four-level underground parking lot large enough for 737 cars, encouraging citizens to park and ride.