It is in Luxinnovation’s premises that the first workshops on the project to create a new eco-district in Esch-Schifflange, on a former site of ArcelorMittal, are held.
A kick-off meeting carried out with the Agora development company, in charge of the overall coordination of this huge project.
Three half-days of work were devoted to the issues of urban metabolism, social inclusion and (de) construction. “These are all hot topics which people are passionate about and which respond to the challenges of energy transition and climate change, by proposing new business models and putting the citizen back at the heart of the project”, comments Georges Schaaf, Head of Sector Development -CleanTech & Manufacturing Industry.
For each of these three major themes, three sub-groups were formed, so that a total of nine workshops were held.
For urban metabolism, the questions focused on the flow of water, energy and waste.
For the social inclusion component, accessibility, mobility, quality of life urban agriculture and also logistics were discussed.
Finally, with regard to (de) construction, exchanges focused on engineering and materials; BIM, modeling, deconstruction; and finally attractiveness of the neighbourhood.
International call for tender early 2019
The objective of these exchanges between professionals was to prepare the drafting of specifications that will support the international call for tender that Agora plans to launch in early 2019. The participation of a hundred people representing more than 60 companies and organisations demonstrate, if need be, the great interest shown by professionals in this project.
“Each time, the workshops lasted nearly three hours, followed by a networking event that allowed for further exchanges between the participants. In this sense, the EcoInnovation cluster fulfilled perfectly its mission of generating innovations and networking businesses,” said Charles-Albert Florentin, Luxembourg EcoInnovation Cluster Manager.
The time has now come to further develop all the ideas exhibited during these workshops. The different concepts will then be submitted to a jury chaired by Agora, who will announce, at the beginning of the next school year, those concepts selected to be part of the specifications to be presented to the planners.
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Luxinnovation contributes to the economic development of Luxembourg by fostering innovation, fuelling international growth and attracting foreign direct investment and is supported by: Ministry of the Economy, Ministry for Higher Education and Research, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg Chamber of Skilled Crafts and FEDIL – The Voice of Luxembourg’s Industry.