Summary: The Elithis Tower in Dijon, France, has opened to claim its mantle as one of the world’s most sustainable buildings. This 54,000-square-foot, 10-story office tower creates more energy than it uses and cost the same amount ($10 million) that a standard building of this size and type might have.

The Elithis Tower in Dijon, France. Image courtesy of Elithis Engineering.

The circular tower, designed by French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier, Hon. FAIA, uses a screened solar shield on the sections of the building that face the sun the most, filtering out excess heat and light, yet still providing enough natural light for proper visibility. Bay windows are also used to bring in natural light and avoid energy-consuming artificial light. Solar photovoltaic panels line the roof, and wood is used extensively in its curtain wall. The building’s HVAC systems recycle hot air exhausts into the heating system. For example, the restaurant emits energy with heating and cooling equipment, and this energy is harnessed in the building.

The tower will serve as office space for Elithis Engineering (which played a vital role in designing the building’s sustainability systems) and will contain 1,600 sensors that will continually measure the energy performance of the structure, essentially turning the building into an energy monitoring and sustainability research lab. Research teams and universities are invited to visit the Elithis Tower and evaluate the information collected in this project. As with all buildings that are defined by extremely high levels of energy performance, users are required to help fulfill the building’s mission and operate it sustainably.