Charter of “building well” for a city that is aging well

Bordeaux Métropole has a “good build” charter for new constructions. At a time when buildings are growing and design, materials, environmental and energy responsibility should be a priority, it is clear that the quality of construction regularly lacks reflection on the sustainability of buildings and compliance with standards. On the Bordeaux metropolis, 2 out of 10 construction sites would present problems. Collapse of balconies, water infiltration due to lack of sealing, cracks. The new buildings that bloom everywhere seem not to have been designed to last over time. This is despite the adoption in February 2010 of a charter for sustainable construction.

Far from not worrying about the quality of its neighborhoods and with a view to building some 7500 homes per year, the Bordeaux metropolis put into force in 2018 a charter of “well-build” with the main objective of reducing defects in the building.

Building good practices in Bordeaux at the service of common sense

Adopted in November 2017, this charter of “building well” has no contractual value, but a grouping of good practices to which the signatories promise to adhere. Written with the help of the metropolis, architects and developers, the Federation of Real Estate Developers and the Gironde Building Federation, it aims not only to ensure a quality of construction but also a good performance over time.

This charter aims to respond to some of the problems raised by the concerned, such as the concern for time, the work being regularly launched after the sale of the lots, requiring to keep relatively short deadlines; the lack of trained and qualified personnel for the conduct of the work; or posted work fraud in order to slash tariffs to obtain contracts.

In order to encourage the signatories of the charter to respect their commitments, they obtain the “well-build” label at the time of signing. But, in case of non-compliance with the charter, they can have it withdrawn.

Building well in Bordeaux Métropole, principles for all building professionals

In order not to be reduced to certain actors in the building industry, the “build well” charter seeks to involve the entire chain. Thus can all companies, developers, project owners, developers, design offices and architects. As soon as they operate in Bordeaux Métropole, these building professionals can apply for certification. After study and if the company meets the criteria, the metropolis gives it a certificate of adherence to the “build well” charter. This is valid for 3 years, except breach of the charter, which may result in the cancellation of the membership.

charter well build bordeaux metropole
Thus, to ensure that the “build well” commitments are respected, member companies are required to submit to the evaluation process.

The charter of “building well”, an insufficient commitment according to some

Nevertheless, despite the form of exhaustiveness of good practices, the adoption of this charter of “building well” is not without some reluctance or dissatisfaction on the part of some of anyone concerned. This is particularly the case for Europe Ecology the Greens, which spoke at the Council meeting on 26 January.

For example, they accuse it of leveling down the claims of the 2010 sustainable construction charter; not to have solicited during the design of the new charter the elected representatives of urban planning, the ADIL and the trustees even though, if the charter lays down rules for the construction period, it is also specified that the benefits are evaluated over time; to speak of commitments that are too vague and unquantified for us to be able to correctly estimate the rigour of the signatories; or not having put in place a sufficiently dissuasive evaluation approach. For good reason, the “well-build” label would not currently benefit from a sufficiently substantial weight to influence the concerned.

Beyond these objections, which can be interesting in the interest of continuous improvement, the Bordeaux metropolis seems to be part of a process of sustainability and quality of all its urban planning work. In particular, there are more and more wooden constructions,in a more ecological approach. If Bordeaux is the city where it’s been nice to live for four years, it’s not by relying on what you’ve learned!

Sources

Press kit Council of Metropolis – 26 January 2018

EELV speech – 26 January 2018

Bordeaux communities ensure “building well””,Le Moniteur, article published on 23 January 2017

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