The participatory approach
One of the major goals of sustainable development is to build a civilization based on a more equitable sharing and more finely responding to the expectations and needs of citizens. As such, citizen participation becomes a requirement in order to adapt responses to the local context. In Les Vergers, all the actors of the project as well as the general public were involved in the discussion, as part of so-called “participatory” approaches.
Urban agriculture
The Vergers eco-district is built on declassified agricultural land that is now urbanized. Displaying a deliberately rural character, while remaining refined, its various public spaces have been developed with the aim of reconciling city and countryside, respecting the principles of urban agriculture. Their maintenance and gardening of the neighborhood were entrusted to the Agricultural Cooperative la Ferme du quartier des Vergers.
Public spaces
Public spaces make it possible to integrate the district into the urban fabric of Meyrinois, while harmonizing the diversity of buildings and populations. They participate in the construction of a green context of urban biodiversity, open to appropriation by the inhabitants. These spaces are carriers of exchanges and meetings.
The energy concept
The energy supply of the orchards eco-district is based on a judicious use of the surrounding resources (see video). A renewable heat network ensures the heating and domestic hot water production needs for all the buildings in the neighborhood. All buildings are self-producing energy (thanks to the 10,533 m2 of solar photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs) and meet the Minergie-A® standards, a first in Switzerland on this scale.
Shops and activities
The 10,000 m2 of surfaces reserved for commercial activities on the ground floors of the buildings are allocated on file. In Les Vergers, a special effort has been made to guide the choice of the first shops and activities that would take place on the ground floors of the buildings, in order to guarantee the coherence, diversity and quality of the commercial offer.
Transportation and mobility
The orchard eco-district gives pride of place to soft mobility: pedestrians and cyclists have a dense network of paths through the district. Tram and bus stops are nearby, on the edge of the neighborhood. Only three streets are circulated in the neighborhood, they have a status of “meeting area”, or more commonly “20 km/h zone”, which means that the pedestrian is free in his movements and priority on all vehicles. Vehicle access is only allowed on the three lanes that give access to the three underground car parks (1245 spaces). These parking lots are not voluntarily linked to housing: they are accessible from public spaces, which promotes meetings, exchanges and the animation of the neighborhood.
Source translated from: https://meyrin.ch/fr/ecoquartierlesvergers