In order to breathe life into this project and make it as effective as possible, the City of Luxembourg organised a « Zukunftswerkstatt Porte de Hollerich » (workshop on the future of the Porte de Hollerich). This was an interactive workshop that brought together around 50 participants, representing both public and private organisations to plan the development of this future eco-district in the best way.
Luxinnovation participated in this workshop through two of its clusters, the EcoInnovation Cluster and the Wood Cluster. In this way, Luxinnovation was able to bring its knowledge in terms of innovative products and processes in these two sectors and, in return, to collect relevant information from other experts on the projects and approaches under consideration. The topics of water treatment and waste or energy were discussed on this occasion.
The « Hollerich Village » project was presented in March 2013. Taken on by the City of Luxembourg and supported by a number of private groups (notably the real estate developer Schuler, the Polaris architects-urbanists firm, the international NGO BioRegional, the office of Goblet Lavandier & Associés or the Fondation natur & ëmwelt), it plans to transform some 3.6 hectares of land located at the southern entrance of the capital into a process of urban, energy and environmental transition. The objective is to build a pilot eco-district, offering a high quality of life to its inhabitants while drastically reducing their environmental impact.
It is expected that 100% of the thermal needs will be self-produced on site, as well as 20% of the electrical needs. Hundreds of new homes should also have green roofs and sustainable wood and 50% of building materials will come from a 150km radius around the site.
“This project is a concrete opportunity to implement innovative concepts in the field of materials and energy flow as well as water management”, says Charles-Albert Florentin, Cluster Manager EcoInnovation.
Last October, the general development plan of the City of Luxembourg was finally approved, so that this project will now be able to move to a more concrete stage of development. A working meeting must be held in January between the different landowners and the public decision-makers.