City of tomorrow
The exhibition
As an echo to Urgence climatique, this exhibition, focusing on the challenges of the ecological transition in an urban environment, invites the public to explore the many innovative approaches that today's technologies offer to protect the environment while promoting economic development.
Through a fun and interactive tour, visitors will explore concrete and efficient solutions to global warming, in the main areas of urban impact.
For ages 12 and up
City of tomorrow
The exhibition
It invites the public to explore the many innovative approaches that today's technologies offer to improve the environment while promoting economic development.
Through a fun and interactive tour, visitors discover concrete and efficient solutions to global warming, in the main areas of impact.
Exploration is a state of mind in the face of life: abandoning our certainties, enriching ourselves with what the unknown can teach us to achieve the impossible. That's how I move forward, following the red thread of my childhood dreams. With a compass in my heart that shows me, not north, but the unknown, all that has not yet been attempted.
Bertrand Piccard
Solutions
The Challenges facing Cities
Some cities are leading the way in urban sustainability. But which smart city initiatives are the most advanced?
Energy & power networks
To reduce their carbon footprint
Cities must...
Encourage all forms of renewable energy production with high-performance systems that are simpler to install and offer better aesthetic integration in an urban environment that is highly constrained by architectural standards
Ensure the stability of the power grid with intelligent planning/management tools, self-consumption and local storage
Reduce waste thanks to more efficient equipment and IT tools that allow for better management of energy consumption
Energy & power networks
Generating electricity with renewable energies
Today we can...
Quantify the geothermal potential of a building or housing stock simply and accurately using artificial intelligence - and make the right choices as a result
Accelerate the installation of geothermal systems with turnkey solutions from design to drilling, operation and maintenance
Energy & power networks
Heating with renewable energies
Today we can...
Make the most of local subsoil resources for heating and cooling, with compact, versatile equipment that can be easily integrated into installations such as ventilation systems
Accelerate the deployment of geothermal heat pumps in dense urban areas, with systems that operate more efficiently and require a minimum of vertical and/or horizontal space - using shallow probes or star-shaped boreholes
Energy & power networks
Storing and integrating renewables into the power grid
Today we can...
Leverage multiple intelligent digital tools to resize and modernize power grids and react in real time to power surpluses or shortages
Maximize the resilience of power grids by using new large-scale storage technologies to balance supply and demand, in particular through pumped-storage hydro turbines
Solutions to discover
Building & construction
To reduce the environmental impact of construction and buildings
Cities must...
Stimulate the production and use of low-carbon materials such as recycled construction waste, bio-sourced insulation and new, optimized concrete formulas
Encourage the use of more sustainable construction methods thanks to new technologies and fully demountable assembly systems
Promote methods for measuring and controlling consumption, with intelligent tools that optimize performance in real time
Building & construction
Use more sustainable construction methods
Today we can...
Optimize the performance of existing technical systems with solutions that are affordable, flexible, scalable and easy to implement.
Adapt energy management to building usage patterns and weather conditions, thanks to intelligent sensor networks that measure numerous parameters in real time
Implement efficiency strategies across an entire building stock, using digital platforms and artificial intelligence tools to monitor and forecast energy consumption automatically
Building & construction
Producing and using low-carbon materials
Today we can...
Identify valuable waste materials and re-use their physical and chemical properties using high-performance separation and processing technologies drastically reduce the need for virgin raw materials (sand, rock, wood, etc.)
Develop an attractive market for reclaiming and recycling, including in other sectors (plastics), thanks to business-to-business digital platforms for selling/buying recovered materials.
Building & construction
Measuring and controlling consumption
Today we can...
Identify valuable waste materials and re-use their physical and chemical properties using high-performance separation and processing technologies drastically reduce the need for virgin raw materials (sand, rock, wood, etc.)
Develop an attractive market for reclaiming and recycling, including in other sectors (plastics), thanks to business-to-business digital platforms for selling/buying recovered materials.
Solutions to discover
Water & urban infrastructure
To optimize water and urban infrastructure management
Cities must...
Improve the efficiency, resilience and profitability of their water distribution networks thanks to modern management, inspection and maintenance tools
Enhance local water treatment and recycling capabilities with high-performance, easy-to-install solutions
Better manage rainwater while cooling locally with appropriate vegetation systems
Water & urban infrastructure
Consolidate urban water networks
Today we can...
Detect leaks or water quality problems in networks in real time, and react as quickly as possible with intelligent, simple and interactive monitoring tools.
Identify at-risk pipes and prioritize repairs using proactive inspection techniques based on artificial intelligence
Implement low-cost, rapid and high-performance maintenance technologies, avoiding the need to replace existing pipes
Water & urban infrastructure
Improving the urban environment: microclimates, air quality and lighting
Today we can...
Better planning of urban green spaces with digital tools using cutting-edge mapping and modeling technologies
Effectively combating urban heat island phenomena and improving quality of life with greening concepts transforming rooftops and public spaces into green leisure areas
Combining rainwater harvesting and temperature regulation with green roof systems using innovative water storage technologies
Water & urban infrastructure
Water treatment and recycling
Today we can...
Better planning of urban green spaces with digital tools using cutting-edge mapping and modeling technologies
Effectively combating urban heat island phenomena and improving quality of life with greening concepts transforming rooftops and public spaces into green leisure areas
Combining rainwater harvesting and temperature regulation with green roof systems using innovative water storage technologies
Solutions to discover
Mobility & logistics
To reduce the environmental impact of mobility
Cities must...
Quantify the geothermal potential of a building or housing stock simply and accurately using artificial intelligence - and make the right choices as a result
Accelerate the installation of geothermal systems with turnkey solutions from design to drilling, operation and maintenance
Mobility & logistics
Reduce travel time and distance
Today we can...
Reduce journey times and distances, thanks to intelligent tools that help manage traffic congestion in real time
Make vehicles less polluting by promoting modern technologies that optimize the efficiency of combustion engines or replace their propulsion systems with cleaner alternatives
Encourage all forms of "low-carbon" or "zero-carbon" alternative mobility (walking, bicycles - with or without propulsion, electric vehicles, public transport, car-sharing, etc.) for the daily journeys of residents as well as for urban deliveries
Mobility & logistics
Making vehicles less polluting
Today we can...
Reduce emissions from existing internal combustion engines with high-tech friction-reducing lubricants, hydrogen injection systems for more complete fuel combustion, biofuels or by promoting eco-driving.
Convert conventional thermal propulsion systems to low-emission electric propulsion (with electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells) through standardized "retrofit" processes
Improve the ecological profile of business fleets through "turnkey", tailor-made clean mobility offers including vehicles, access to recharging infrastructures, and maintenance.
Mobility & logistics
Adopt soft mobility
Today we can...
Decarbonize deliveries with small electric vehicles designed for a very wide range of uses (fresh, refrigerated, bulky, heavy, fragile products, etc.), in all weathers.
Increase the economic and ecological efficiency of deliveries, using digital tools or turnkey services to combine different modes of transport on the same journey (multimodality).
Exploit existing public transport services to combine passenger and freight conveyance.
Solutions to discover
Waste Management
To reduce the environmental impact of waste
Cities must...
Limit waste production at source with new tools and services to avoid food waste, promote reusable packaging and encourage economic models based on repair and/or resale
Optimize waste management through new, more efficient sorting methods and innovative recycling technologies that treat waste as a resource to be re-exploited - rather than as scrap to be disposed of
Waste Management
Improving waste management
Today we can...
Recycle complex, heterogeneous municipal waste streams using high-performance pre-treatment methods and innovative recycling technologies that process mixed materials without the need for prior sorting.
Unlock the full potential of plastics waste with cutting-edge technologies that convert it into new, high-value products (virgin plastic, low-carbon fuels and chemicals, fertilizers, hydrogen, etc.).
Waste Management
Limiting waste production
Today we can...
Introduce returnable and/or reusable packaging in the fast-food sector, with new types of ecological, recyclable and resistant containers.
Promote circularity in e-commerce with new standardized, robust and versatile packaging and IT management and tracking platforms
Introduce attractive liquid refill systems in food stores, with compact, automated and interactive dispensers
Solutions to discover
Sustainable Housing
What if you opted for sustainable living?
Choosing sustainable living means...
First and foremost, ensure that the building envelope (walls, roofs, floors) is perfectly insulated, so that other energy-saving measures are not nullified by a "thermal sieve"
Take action at every possible level (heating, air conditioning, ventilation, lighting, drinking water, vegetation, waste, etc.), following the adage "small streams make big rivers"
Consider environmental benefits and medium- and long-term returns on investment, rather than short-term expenses
Sustainable Housing
Measure, Control & Reduce
Today we can...
Take action at every possible level (heating, air conditioning, ventilation, lighting, drinking water, vegetation, waste, etc.), following the adage "small streams make big rivers".
Sustainable Housing
Renovate: by insulating, ventilating or heating
Today we can...
Consider environmental benefits and medium- and long-term returns on investment rather than short-term expenditure.
Solutions to discover
Far from being an apology for high technology, which scares many people, these existing technical solutions appeal to common sense. They help reduce waste of energy and resources, and modernize our world to make it more efficient and cleaner. It's not just the climate that's at stake, but also our quality of life.
Bertrand Piccard
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And if you want to keep exploring
Tour & Taxis
Rue Picard 7, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
The venue can be reached by public transport:
- Metro lines 2 and 6, stop Yser or Ribaucourt
- Train station Tour & Taxis is a short walk from the venue. Please check the Belgian rail website for up-to-date travel information.
- Several trams and buses have stops close to the venue. Please check the Brussels public transport website for up-to-date travel information.
- Tour & Taxis provides a shuttle bus from Brussels North Station every day. Find the schedule here.
- The website of Tour & Taxis lists all the ways how to get there, find your best mode of transport here.