Research

Understand in order to predict and reduce environmental impacts
Toitures végétalisées à l'échelle d'un quartier

A scientific partnership for environmental performance

Researchers associated with the lab recherche environnement provide solid knowledge and a multidisciplinary approach to enhance the ecological transition of buildings, neighbourhoods and infrastructures. Since 2008, around thirty doctoral and postdoctoral projects have been supported by the lab recherche environnement at three ParisTech engineering schools which have expertise in four complementary fields:

  • MINES ParisTech on the energy efficiency of buildings and life-cycle assessment of neighbourhoods;
  • AgroParisTech on biodiversity;
  • the École des Ponts ParisTech on sustainable mobility.

This complementarity allows a systemic approach which is essential to making progress when it comes to environmental performance and its multiple criteria.
The ecoperformance objective is being pursued in conjunction with VINCI, whose building and infrastructure projects serve as a testing ground for researchers. The research results are made public and shared not only with the scientific community, but also with all the stakeholders in the city and the territories to facilitate decision-making and improve practices. This dissemination is a key aspect of the lab recherche environnement with more than 150 academic publications and nearly 500 people who participate in the conferences of lab recherche environnement each year.

Current research

The 2018-2023 roadmap pursues three goals: limiting the environmental impacts of buildings and neighbourhoods and controlling costs, integrating the environmental dimension into the digitisation of business lines, for example, through energy simulation in BIM (building information modelling) and finally improving the well-being, comfort and health of users, in particular, by reducing urban heat islands.

Research fellows
The researchers who collaborate on the projects of the lab recherche environnement have complementary expertise on ecoperformance of buildings, neighbourhoods and infrastructures.
All researchers
Projects
Against a backdrop of declining biodiversity, it is necessary to consider the best strategies to incorporate ecological challenges into plans and projects. One possible avenue to achieve this is to encourage stakeholders
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Revegetation has long been a strategy used by planners to meet operational needs such as soil stabilisation and landscape aesthetics. Today, it is valued for its potential to contribute to restoring biodiversity,
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Taking into account indoor air quality in buildings’ life cycle assessments is a means of designing buildings with a reduced impact on occupants.
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A comparison between the simulation results and the measurements will supplement the previous work concerning the validation of the thermo-aeraulic model, which will then be applied to the study of predictive control
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Scientific publications
Journal articles
Beatriz Palacios-Munoz, Bruno Peuportier, Luis Gracia-Villa, Belinda López-Mesa Sustainability assessment of refurbishment vs. new constructions by means of LCA and durability-based estimations of buildings lifespans: A new approach
Building and Environment, 2019, 160, pp.106203. ⟨10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106203⟩
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Journal articles
Nicolas Coulombel, Virginie Boutueil, Liu Liu, Vincent Viguie et al. Substantial rebound effects in urban ridesharing: Simulating travel decisions in Paris, France
Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 2019, 71, pp. 110-126. ⟨10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.006⟩
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Journal articles
Biao Yin, Liu Liu, Nicolas Coulombel, Vincent Viguie Appraising the environmental benefits of ride-sharing: The Paris region case study
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, 177, pp.888-898. ⟨10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.186⟩
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Journal articles
Nicolas Coulombel Why housing and transport costs should always be considered together: A monocentric analysis of prudential measures in housing access
Transport Policy, 2018, 65, pp.89-105. ⟨10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.04.011⟩
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