With a zero-carbon goal for the year 2025, this redevelopment scheme for the city’s waterfront balances sound investment and innovative energy and water infrastructure with passive buildings and sites to reduce resource consumption.
New Caledonia is among the most biodiverse islands in the world; however, it is imperiled by lack of sustainable water, food, and energy sources, and by a reliance on hazardous nickel mining for income. The government has therefore made zero-carbon development an urgent goal.
With the architects’ masterplan for Noumea, Atelier Ten is developing an ambitious roadmap to zero-carbon. This project is a first for Atelier Ten in terms of the scale and nature of its components: infrastructural investments in energy and carbon reduction and renewables; increased mass transit and pedestrian routes; improved sanitation; and carefully-planned eco-tourism centers to boost awareness and provide a different source of income. Atelier Ten’s roadmap also includes site-level strategies including passive buildings, walkable streetscapes, carefully-zoned nature reserves, and mixed-use, high-density neighborhoods.
