Essor: Bagneaux-sur-Loing

In an unusual shift for urban development, the town of Bagneaux-sur-Loing has traded a 200-unit housing project for a 20,720 sqm data center to the relief of the local community. Developed by Essor Group and Theia Energy, the facility will revitalize the vacant Thomson industrial site by using waste heat to support a 5,500 sqm tomato greenhouse and an onsite fish farm.

While data centers often face local opposition, residents and councilors have welcomed this project because the town’s schools and infrastructure are already at capacity and cannot support a population surge. Designed by Silvio d'Ascia, the blueprints preserve the site's industrial heritage by incorporating the original factory chimneys into the new sustainable structure.