Smartseille

The first part of the sustainable Mediterranean city can be found in the area behind the port. Since autumn 2014, under the guidance of Eiffage, the operation Smartseille, also known by the name of the demonstrator island Allar, is coming up opposite EDF’s regional head office, on the site of an old gas-works (2.4 ha).

Smartseille, a noteworthy preview

This wager on the future is attracting attention. Double pyramides award-winner in Spring 2016 from the federation of real estate promoters (Fédération des promoteurs immobiliers - FPI) of Provence, it is building the mixed city of tomorrow, combining different uses instead of separating them by district, and renews the historical principles of bioclimatic Mediterranean architecture (minerality, wall thickness).

The EcoCité innovation laboratory

The Smartseille project, which is experimenting on an island to test the technical and financial feasibility of the EcoCity ambitions, is the result of an innovative approach, driven by the Euroméditerranée Urban Development Agency. The design work began far upstream and was shared between the developed, the Eiffage Group and its Phosphore development research unit.

It involved testing all the EcoCity urban and environmental innovations, while retracing history and ensuring costs were managed. It is the "Low Cost, Easy Tech" concept: "All the innovations developed in this project must be affordable for users and be able to be used intuitively in order to be duplicated elsewhere”, summarises Rémi Costantino, secretary general and director of strategy and prospective research for EPA Euroméditerranée.

The uses of today and tomorrow

With almost 58,000m² floor space, the Smartseille island is exploring and cross-referencing a number of urban concerns. In addition to social, functional and intergenerational diversity are questions such as home comfort, digital services, local services and mobility, and environmental performance (energy, water, waste, pollution removal etc.).

The ambition of Smartseille is also to anticipate in the long-term the changes in use and mutation of the district, with for example, shared spaces or mobile elements.