Building a community around sustainable development and construction

Marie-Agnès Barrière is a Project Officer in charge of coordinating the activity generator at the Arkinova technology site and is a specialist in innovative projects in the field of construction. An Interview.

What was your career path before becoming a project officer for the activity generator?

After my engineering degree specialized in materials from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Electrochimie et d’Electrométallurgie in Grenoble, I wrote a thesis on the theme of materials, and then joined the Inasmet Foundation in San Sebastian, that we know these days as Tecnalia. It is a private center dedicated to research, development and innovation. I carried out several missions, such as coordination or co-operation between research centers, but also participating in creating businesses aimed at conducting research projects. I then worked in industrial property, and for the last five years my mission was in technology transfer.

And what is your job now?

I joined the Pays Basque Urban Authority in September 2016 as a project officer in charge of coordinating the activity generator, officially as of 8 December 2016. My mission has several focuses, reflecting the activity generator’s hybrid nature. We host young businesses from the construction and sustainable development sectors, but also teams from businesses for individual research and development projects. The idea is to be a place of collaborative innovation, to create links between the main stakeholders in sustainable development, especially those from the Arkinoval technology site. The goal is to create a real community around training programs or thematic events.

And today? Can you give an initial assessment of your mission?

We are currently growing in influence. The activity generator has progressively invested in technical equipment, such as 3D printers, a digital scanner and 3D modelling workstations, as well as business software. Five businesses have already been set up in the activity generator, built to house 25 - they are C3, Egile Solutions, Atelier d’Architecture HIRU, Carbone 64 and Etudes Alde. Some professional events have already taken place, such as the presentation conference for the “energy-positive buildings and carbon reduction” label, animated by the New Aquitaine ADEME (Agency for the Environment and Energy Management) on 31 March. This spot is very popular and is starting to find its identity.