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Kaufman & Broad sets the 1st beam of the Silva Tower in Bordeaux for the Woodrise Congress
On Tuesday, October 17, our teams, led by Georges Lopez, Regional Director New Aquitaine of Kaufman & Broad, launched work of the Silva Tower, one of the highest wooden towers in Europe, located in Bordeaux. The same week was also held in the “Gironde ‘city, the Woodrise Congress, a key event in wood construction where Kaufman & Broad teams were able to prove their expertise in wood construction.
A large-scale operation to meet the needs of the city of Bordeaux
Our teams celebrated the launch of Tour Silva on Tuesday, October 17. Nordine Hachemi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaufman & Broad, Georges Lopez, Regional Director New Aquitaine of Kaufman & Broad and Steven Ware, architect of the project (Art & Build Agency), accompanied by the DGA of the EPA of Bordeaux Euro Atlantic, Mathieu Mangin, Deputy Municipal Councillor for the Bordeaux Sud District and Jean Jacques Puyobrau, Vice President in charge of Housing, Habitat and City Policy in “Bordeaux Metropole”, together laid the 1st beam of Tour Silva.
As an important element of Bordeaux ‘future landscape, Tour Silva, which amounts to almost 60 metres high, is taking place in a context of revitalising the Euro Atlantic district of the city of Bordeaux. The tower meets the city’s habitat and space occupancy needs. In fact, it will offer 125 housing units from 2 to 5 rooms, spread over 16 floors. Its high-rise design helps to limit the grip on the ground and the permeability of the soil, a problem of major cities today. These recovered square metres will allow the planting of green spaces for the inhabitants, the development of biodiversity and the creation of freshness ilots.
La Tour Silva for wood construction research
La Tour Silva is a feat of innovations in wood construction and respect for the environment. Wood is a strong marker of the New Aquitaine region, particularly the Forest of the “Landes region”. In order to support the policy of boosting its still underrepresented timber industry, the research carried out for the construction of Tour Silva has been filed in the public domain to serve other projects and advance research in the field of wood construction.
In terms of construction, the choice was made on a timbered tower with a mixed structure composed of more than 60% wood: From the ground floor to level +4, the structure is made of concrete (poles and floor) and from level +5, the structure becomes mixed with a central part of concrete and two side parts in structure and wood floors. In addition, the site will generate 30% less greenhouse gas than a conventional site in the construction phase. Once in use, the tower will perform optimally and have the highest marks of the labels it targets.
The Woodrise Congress, an international meeting in the timber sector
Kaufman & Broad, a longstanding partner of the FCBA and with proven experience in timber construction, was present at the 4th edition of the Woodrise Congress held in Bordeaux at the same time as the laying of the 1st beam of our Tour Silva. During these 2 days of trade show, our teams were able to share the lessons learnt from the achievements already carried out to the actors of the wood sector, the elected representatives and planners present for the occasion.
