Controlled water and energy use.
The main challenge was to create a habitat that would be suitable for animals from the high seas, which need a lot of space. It was therefore necessary, from the outset, to think big and imagine a giant tank, which had never been built in Europe before, just as it was necessary to design outsized technical installations.
Insulation and energy recovery
In particular, we had to reduce the energy and ecological footprint of the Nausicaá extension as much as possible and, as a result, the running costs.
To achieve this, high-performance insulation was installed on the building envelope. Energy recovery and air flow variation systems, tailored to each type of occupation, were integrated into the ventilation systems from the design stage.
Centralised supervision
All the installations are controlled by a centralised management system. To create a heat-efficient facility, the teams capitalised upon the simultaneous need for heating and cooling to optimise the installations and reduce consumption. The excess heat, amounting to more than 2,000 MWh per year, is then reinjected into the district heating network.
Water recycling and treatment
The same care was taken with the recycling and treatment of the water in the tanks, through the installation of innovative systems that allow the tanks' waste water to be discharged into the channel at a higher quality than the water pumped from the sea, directly under the beach at Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The water treatment process was also optimised to reduce electricity consumption and all the tank lighting.
