The EPURE project is coordinated by two technical centres: the TIPEE platform and CRITT Horticole, both based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
TIPEE is a technology centre specialising in sustainable construction and urban planning, with expertise in testing and modelling spaces (both indoor and outdoor). As part of the EPURE project, TIPEE brings a wealth of experience in the following areas:
- Scientific and operational research into the phenomenon of the urban heat island effect, which has been ongoing for many years.
- Time-tested expertise in transferring solutions derived from upstream research into operational applications.
- Proven expertise in the development of digital solutions, combined with operational deployment objectives.
CRITT Horticole is a technology centre specialising in plants: from greenhouse engineering to green cities, including plant engineering and plant-based dyes. Indeed, CRITT Horticole possesses expertise in agronomy, horticultural engineering, landscape architecture and biochemistry. Within the EPURE project, CRITT Horticole is contributing its expertise in:
- The identification and definition of forms of urban greening, whether applicable to buildings or neighbourhoods, as well as their analysis and prioritisation.
- The installation of test benches and their monitoring, as well as the instrumentation and monitoring of real-world sites.
- The adoption and use of the tools developed as part of this project, through its innovative work in the landscaping sector.
The strength of the EPURE consortium lies in the diversity of its partner organisations, which represent the entire range of stakeholders.
These partner organisations are involved throughout the EPURE programme. Their contributions are as follows:
Drawing on their experience in tackling the urban heat island effect, the industrial partners mentioned above offer to contribute their expertise to the development of the methodology for evaluating solutions, particularly with regard to the selection of the criteria to be taken into account. Their sector-specific expertise will also help to ensure the relevance of the services and tools developed by EPURE.
The partner organisations are firmly established in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, although their solutions and services may be marketed nationally or even internationally. This local presence ensures that the consortium is well-informed about local issues and is already involved in efforts to combat urban heat island effects.
The solutions sold by the consortium’s members fall into two main categories. So-called ‘green’ solutions are plant-based, such as green roofs, green walls and green car parks. ‘Grey’ solutions include products such as ‘cool roof’ waterproofing membranes or paints designed to reduce the surface temperature of roofing materials.
The diversity of the consortium’s member companies makes it possible to explore solutions applicable to a range of areas: roofs, walls, car parks, roads, etc. Combined with the extensive product range, this enables EPURE to provide as comprehensive a representation as possible of the solutions available on the market, with the aim of developing relevant tools and services for the sector.
Finally, the companies in the consortium are contributing to the project by providing samples of their products. Using these samples, TIPEE and CRITT Horticole will be able to characterise the proposed solutions, with the aim of incorporating reliable data into the models being developed. Furthermore, the diversity of the solutions studied will enable the tool developed by EPURE to serve as many stakeholders and projects as possible.
Partner cities
The EPURE programme can also count on the support of the cities of Agen, Niort, La Rochelle and Rochefort. These partner cities are involved at various stages of the project, including the review of town planning documents and the implementation of pilot sites.