28 | Country Focus: France


SUMMARY


■The French timber sector has lobbied for the use of wood at the Games


■The Paris Olympics are being billed as an all-time low carbon Games


■A near 100% ban on the use of tropical timber was overturned


TROPICAL ON TRACK FOR 2024 OLYMPICS


The Paris Olympics has dropped its ban on the use of tropical timber in Games developments. Mike Jeffree reports


Timber was already a front running material for the range of building and other park developments for the low environmental impact 2024 Paris Olympics. Now Games projects will feature tropical timber too after industry intervention helped persuade delivery authority Solideo to have a change of heart over its initial near 100% ban on using it.


The French timber sector has put in a major lobbying effort to make Games developments a showcase for use of wood structurally and in a wide variety of other applications in


arenas, the athletes’ village and Olympics park landscaping; everything from brise soleils, to bridges, benches and boardwalks. Under the auspices of industry umbrella body France-Bois Forêt it set up France Bois 2024 to promote timber as the prime construction and building products material for what is being billed as an all-time low carbon Games. Its role has also been to mobilise the French timber sector to work with architects, designers and contractors to make the technical and environmental case for wood in project tenders.


Above: The Paris Olympics Aquatic Centre ALL PHOTOS: VENHOEVEN CS ARCHITECTS TTJ | July/August 2022 | www.ttjonline.com


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