Historically, the Capuchin plateau was home to industrial and military activities, however, these have been moved to other areas in recent decades. Urban sustainability is one of the key components of the Capucins renewal project. The geographical location of the site allows for a completely unobstructed view of the Penfeld river, the harbour and the city of Brest.  As the area is steeped in history, the aim is to make the district as dynamic as it was previously by offering a quality of life based on culture and social offerings.  Further, the project aims to integrate the eco district on the right bank of Brest and to renew the attractiveness of this part of the city by creating new cultural facilities and innovative services for citizens.

The eco-district has a diversified housing offer which provides a social mix representation: 50% of the housing stock is available through free ownership, 25% are subsidised rental units and the remaining 25% are available at an affordable cost. Each block has an underground car park.

The Capucins project is designed as a sustainable neighbourhood with public spaces mainly allocated for pedestrians and limiting the space for motor vehicles. The public transport network - bus, tram or cable car - makes the city extremely accessible to residents.

The eco-district represents a true European corridor as, by car, people can access the airport in 20 minutes and travel by expressway to the city of Rennes in 2.5 hours. From Paris, the TGV takes an average of 3 hours and 25 minutes and the plane 1 hour and 10 minutes.

2004 - marketing study of the project was undertaken.

2009 - Urban Development Zone was created.

2012 - development works on the site commenced

2015 - Cité Internationale completed

2016 – construction of the cable car operation commenced.

2017 - the first residents of the eco-district moved in.

The cable car, spanning the Penfeld river, creates a direct link between the right and left banks. An estimated 675,000 passengers per year will cross the 400 metres separating the Plateau des Capucins from the Rue de Siam (Brest’s main arterial street), which is to the south of the eco-district. The cable car is a free means of transport that will help avoid increased traffic levels for the two bridges, which carry 70,000 daily trips. The crossing of the Penfeld at a height of 70 metres could also become a tourist attraction in the long term.

New buildings own the low-energy label and meet ambitious environmental standards. Heating and domestic hot water will use 90% renewable energy and should not emit any CO2 due to the alternative option of the urban heating network. The layout of the blocks and buildings have been designed to limit the visual impact of the car, with a large underground car park in the forecourt. Car traffic will be limited in favour of collective and soft transport, with many footpaths and cycle paths, combined with the tramway line linking the eco-district and the cable car.

“Les Ateliers des Capucins” is an industrial cathedral with majestic naves and an unobstructed view of the bay of Brest. This iconic landmark was originally a convent and then converted into industrial workshops and is now a public square open to residents and visitors to the eco-district.

The site was developed by Brest Métropole and the City of Brest. They develop and manages the promotional and entertainment strategy of the site in line with its trademark qualities for the public shareholders. In this respect, “Les Ateliers des Capucins” handles the operational plans for building and maintains the reputation of the site and any new facilities that will be established including:

• Making the site one of the driving forces behind the attractiveness of the City of Brest;
• Strengthen the quality of urban life (culture offerings, leisure activities, shops);
• Handle the management and maintenance of the historical site;
• Contribute to making the site a key player focused on increasing the density of downtown Brest and improving the new Capucins district.

The contracting authority of the Capucins eco-district is Brest Métropole. In 2009, the French State and Brest Métropole signed a session protocol, enabling the Métropole to launch the urban renewal programme, the cost of which was set at 2.2 million euros.

In the context of the large urban renewal operation for The Capucins eco-district, the EURE (Effectiveness of Environmental Urban policies to improve Resources Efficiency) European project focused on two pilot projects which have been developed between 2015 and 2019:

• The Brest Smart Grid project has been launched as a collective approach to control energy demand. It also includes a major raising awareness dimension through an interactive tool.
• A Prototype of Photovoltaic Power plant with self-consumption.

In 2019, EURE project analysed 4 indicators in the Capucins site:

Consumption:

• Six Big Building/Big Consumer analyse

Power Generation:

• One Power plant with self-consumption (100 kWc)
• One classic Power plant (100 kWc)
• One classic Power plant (8 kWc)

One platform to analyse consumption and production data;

One communication screen to educate visitors of the Capucins district about the energy cost of the neighbourhood building.

The challenges facing the Capuchins are mostly the rehabilitation of a historic site, bringing innovations in housing, economy, culture and leisure, and easy access to all shops and services.

However, for the past decade, Brest has been financially investing in ideas so that the metropolitan area can change. Among these investments are the restoration of the waterfront, creation of cultural facilities, increasing the number of events held, the renewal and improvement of the city's heritage and the arrival of the tramway in 2012.

The Capucins has carved out a unique place for itself in the Brest landscape. Many activities and festivities take place: public picnics, fashion week, comic book meetings, BMX competitions, dance festivals and sports forums and new projects are continuously launched.  It is becoming a popular place for tourists.

Within the framework of the Interreg Europe EURE project, the City of Brest was represented by the Atlantic Cities Association and the Capucins eco-district was promoted as a case study. In terms of transferability, this allows the eco-district to be promoted as a good practice to other European cities and regions.

Mr Nicolas Plassart, nicolas.plassart@brest-metropole.fr 
Ms Sylvie Mingant, sylvie.mingant@brest-metropole.fr, Energy Division of Brest metropole.

EURE project’s partner contact:
Ms Adeline Oliveira, EU Projects Manager at Atlantic Cities, projects@atlanticcities.eu.