Paris Summer Olympics Structures Aim to Reduce Carbon Footprint by Utilizing Mass Timber

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics built many of its facilities to be sustainable, as the city aims to reduce the Games’ carbon footprint, Woodworking Network reported (7-30-24). One of the major efforts to achieve these goals was to build fewer facilities that would lay dormant after the Games and for any structures built to be less harmful to the environment—including the use of mass timber.

The International Olympic Committee set ambitious net zero targets for the 2024 Olympics. Organizers aim to halve their carbon footprint compared to the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016, 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Paris and its ecosystem are on course to meet this objective thanks to the measures to avoid, reduce, and control carbon emissions.

The most visible of the Paris endeavors is the Aquatics Center. Architectural design companies VenhoevenCS with Ateliers 2/3/4/ won the competition to design the facility, and the timber structure will be the only permanent venue built. The center features a large timber roof, and the firms designed and prefabricated the components hundreds of miles away from Paris before assembling them.

In its project description, Ateliers said: “Wood is at the heart of the Aquatic Center, giving its identity and shaping its structure. The thin, floating, and wavy roof offers the public a perfect view of the pools from the stands. The project exceeds the guidelines for sustainability. The roof is entirely covered with solar panels, making it one of the largest urban solar farms in France. It illustrates how sustainable design principles can create a new architecture, which improves the living environment of our cities.”

The aquatic center uses cross-laminated timber modular components that were manufactured hundreds of kilometers away and assembled onsite.