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| Vinci takes part in the European Research and Innovation Exhibition French building giant Vinci is taking part in the European Research and Innovation Exhibition, to be held from 5 to 7 June at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris. Vinci's four business lines will be presented from the viewpoint of innovation around one over-arching theme: "sustainable construction and the urban environment: how to invent the city of tomorrow". Eco-communities, eco-cities, sustainable mobility – Vinci is involved in intensive research and development in all these areas. In 2007, it launched the City Factory, a think-tank focusing very sharply on innovation in favour of the sustainable city. It promotes pioneering initiatives and encourages exchange of views between the people responsible for reflecting on and experimenting with novel approaches to the urban environment, whether Vinci employees or public and private decision-makers. Vinci Park's future mobility centre at La Défense aims to respond to all the mobility requirements of people using the site by offering a one-stop service covering all transport solutions: private cars, carsharing with the Okigo service, motorbike-taxis, bicycles (free reserved parking spaces), public transport (automatic ticket distributors) and combined transport (paying for parking using the Liber-t motorway transponder). Eurovia invests 70% of its R&D resources in designing innovative products and processes centring around sustainable development. They include: warm mix asphalts that use less energy and generate lower GHG emissions; the NOxer pollution-reducing pavement that neutralises the nitrogen oxides emitted by moving vehicles; the Viagrip high skid-resistance surfacing that halves braking distances, and Recyclovia, a cold-mix in-situ surfacing technique using recycled road materials. Other initiatives include asphalt recycling and reusing demolition materials for new infrastructures. Vinci Energies business units propose innovative solutions to local authorities for managing road infrastructure, dynamic public lighting and design and maintenance of urban information systems combining video surveillance, traffic lights and variable message panels. They also propose their expertise in energy efficiency for public and private buildings (with implementation of an "energy notebook" in particular), photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, etc. Vinci Construction: a number of initiatives have led to development of eco-design building techniques through routine use of life cycle analysis (construction, use, deconstruction, recycling, etc.). In 2007, the Equer software was used to help design-build operators develop more environmentally friendly buildings. In 2008, production of an eco-design label by Vinci Construction France will provide a valuable benchmark for buildings generating low CO2 emissions. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |