The Nobatek Building’s 10th Anniversary

The building that houses the Nobatek/INEF4 technological center, located on the Arkinova technological campus in Anglet, is an outstanding example of eco-construction. Quite the pioneer when it was designed, the building is as inspiring as ever for the sustainable construction ecosystem and is still a demonstration facility on which innovations are tested.

“The building was completed in 2009, in the early days of environmental initiatives in the building industry. We wanted to prove we could produce high-performance buildings with a building focused on a passive approach and therefore a highly green construction. It was designed at the time of the first environmental certifications in France and it is HQE-certified as both a service and low-energy building. It’s a construction which, back then, consumed half of what a similar building consumed. The building was also designed to be modular and flexible. We built it with local materials like lumber from the Landes pine forest used for the siding,” explained Fréderic Betbeder, head of Nobatek/INEF4 innovative services, in a video celebrating the building’s 10^th anniversary. 

Evolution and Innovations

Inaugurated in 2009 in Anglet on the Arkinova campus, this 15-meter tall, 1000-square-meter building almost completely clad in pine from the Landes forest, except for the 100%-glass southern façade, which stands out due to its maximal use of natural light. The building houses the Nobatek/INEF4 technology center, awarded the National Institute for Energy Transition label in 2013 by the Program of Investments for the Future. Approximately 30 engineers, researchers, technicians and architects work there on innovative technology for planning, rehabilitation and sustainable construction. Since January 1^st, the building has been powered with green energy by Enargia, a supplier of 100%-renewable, locally-produced electricity. It is worth noting that the building is also a demonstration facility on which innovations are tested and could evolve energetically and environmentally to become a positive-energy building.

Website: https://www.nobatek.inef4.com