bluefactory goes green and boosts reuse

BFF SA has launched phase one of its urban renaturation development which features the planting of native species resistant to climate change, the creation of water surfaces and amenity areas, and gives pride of place to reused materials.

The bluefactory district is going to look completely different by the end of the year. Following the completion of the site’s first permanent building, phase one of the urban renaturation development has been launched and will be finished by year end. It aims to improve quality of life, promote biodiversity and reduce heat islands, while promoting the reuse of materials. Work began in June with landscaping in front of the brand-new Building B in the central square, providing a 60-seat terrace for the Mycelium restaurant. Currently, the area is being planted with climate change resistant native species including oaks, alders, birches, willows and even a lime tree in a nod to Fribourg’s historically famous Tilleul. The subsoil for this development has been recovered from the site’s construction works, while the topsoil will be taken from embankments for onsite conditioning and stocking. A pond is to be installed, over-arced by a footbridge built from reused concrete by the EPFL Fribourg / Smart Living Lab. Amenity spaces and furniture are being made from, among other things, materials recuperated from the Yellow Hall, the Yellow Garage, the Annex 2 building and the City’s tree surgery offcuts.

More than 70 bicycle spaces

Soft mobility plays an important role in a low-carbon district like bluefactory. In collaboration with the City of Fribourg, new signage was installed last year showing routes to the bluefactory from Fribourg’s main train station and the three nearby bus stops. The bluefactory site is now more visible and more easily accessible by public transport. In response to the innovation district’s growth, nearly 50 new bicycle spaces will be available by the end of the summer, bringing the total to more than 70. The onsite bicycle shelters are being built from sheet metal recovered from the Yellow Hall, dismantled last summer.

About BFF SA

Founded in 2014, BFF SA aims to develop, build, operate, promote, and animate the bluefactory low-carbon innovation district. The site is now home to 540 people (700 with the arrival of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group this summer) working in around seventy entities (SMEs, start-ups, university research institutes, and innovation actors). It actively promotes the principles of sustainable development as well as those of the circular economy.