May 22, 2024
New Trousseau Hospital at the Tours University Hospital (CHRU)
Equans France has been selected to carry out part of the work on one of France’s largest hospital construction projects.
As part of a consortium comprising Bouygues Bâtiment Centre Sud-Ouest, Bouygues Bâtiment Grand Ouest, Cegelec, and Eiffage Energie Systèmes—led by Bouygues Bâtiment Centre Sud-Ouest— Axima, a subsidiary of Equans France, will be responsible for the construction of the New Trousseau Hospital (NHT) at the Tours Regional University Hospital (CHRU), specifically for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and smoke control (HVAC) and plumbing systems. This project provides Equans with an opportunity to demonstrate its expertise in a critical field—ensuring comfort and maintaining hygiene standards in hospital rooms—while also showcasing one of its latest technological innovations: the CEDI (Equans Digital Industry Control Panel).
Expertise in Energy Conservation
Earthwork and site preparation for the New Trousseau Hospital in Tours—a massive 80,000-square-meter project comprising two building complexes—one housing a medical-technical wing with 25 operating rooms, 13 interventional procedure rooms, a sterilization unit, 141 intensive care rooms on one side, and a 400-bed patient accommodation wing on the other—began in October 2023. Currently in the detailed design phase, the Equans France Axima unit will be responsible for installing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and smoke exhaust (HVAC-SE) systems, as well as the plumbing.
Given the public health implications, the quality of the air-borne fluids in the operating rooms and burn units planned for the future hospital is of the utmost importance. This quality requirement, which is essential to preserving patients’ lives, is reflected right from the design phase. With Europe’s largest design firm specializing in HVAC and mechanical ventilation, Axima is able to analyze and account for all relevant parameters—particularly air pressure and filtration levels—to create healthy environments and prevent the spread of disease. This expertise allows us, for example, to adjust the direction and rate of air exchange in patient rooms based on the conditions being treated and the risk of contamination.
In keeping with Equans France’s core values, Axima is committed to integrating the energy transition into its projects. During the air treatment process carried out by the air handling units for the operating rooms, heat will be recovered through heat recovery coils to minimize energy consumption when treating the fresh air entering the ventilation system.
When Equans Helps Build the Future of Healthcare
Drawing on Equans’ expertise in the healthcare sector, Axima leverages its diverse past experience to develop innovative solutions that could benefit the NHT project in Tours. One such example is the 2024 Innovation Award winner at Equans France: the CEDI, short for Coffret Equans Digital Industriel. It facilitates the deployment of air handling units in hospitals in record time, reducing the process from 40 hours to just 10 minutes. Thanks to standardized engineering and an optimized footprint, the enclosure—measuring 60 x 80 cm—is compatible with 80% of the air handling units installed in hospitals.
Prior to this innovation, air handling units were controlled by large cabinets located in a mechanical room, with a tangle of cables that made operation complex and posed a real risk of delays in operating room schedules. These control cabinets offer a standardized solution that simplifies installation, maintenance, and operation; increases equipment availability; and reduces scheduling risks (saving time during installation and commissioning, and minimizing the risk of unforeseen issues). To date, Axima is installing more than 350 CEDI units in the university hospitals of Caen Normandy, Nice, and Nantes, thereby helping to improve patient care, maximize patient comfort, and facilitate the work of medical staff.
