Lycee Kyoto in Poitiers - A European first in Poitou-Charentes

Description:

Lycée Kyoto in Poitiers is set to open its doors for the first time at the beginning of the new school year, but this is more than just a run-of-the-mill new college building.

The college will be the first school in Europe to be run entirely on renewable energy sources, and it is one of the region's flagship projects, underlining as it does the regional council's green credentials.

An unlikely fusion of two existing colleges, the Poitiers college of hoteliers and the agricultural college of Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, the new establishment is named after the UN convention on greenhouse emissions, which was forged over a decade ago.

Situated in the St Eloi district of Poitiers, the project was launched in November 2006 by eco-friendly regional president Ségolène Royal, who has since followed-up with other potentially planet-saving policies such as her plans for sun-farms (photovoltaic electricity) and a region-sponsored competition to build and put into production a cheap electric car.

The 30 million euro project designed by architects Guy Autran and François Gillard is finally ready for the start of the 2009/10 school year, and will accommodate up to 500 students within its 16,500msq internal area.

You can visit the official project website by clicking here, or the new college website which is still under development by clicking here.

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