GC Department Projects

The Gardian Cabin

La Cabane de Gardian is a project designed and built by civil engineering students at the IUT de Nîmes as part of their final-year project since 2009. Its goal is to present a sustainable alternative to the current building model, which is being called into question by constantly rising energy costs, as well as to train students in renewable energy.

The project

With a floor area of 20.82 square meters, the cabin is divided into two sections:

• A living space designed to serve an educational purpose in relation to the existing facilities.
• A technical room used as a laboratory for student experiments.

Facilities

• For heating: low-temperature radiant floor heating powered by a solar thermal panel, as well as a heat pump.
• For ventilation: a combination of a heat recovery shaft and a dual-flow mechanical ventilation system.
• For electricity: photovoltaic solar panels will provide power for the cabin and the lighting in the faculty parking lot, but there will be no connection to the EDF grid.

Construction

• Reinforced concrete footing foundations
• Foundation made of precast concrete blocks
• Reinforced concrete slab laid on a layer of sand
• Wood-frame structure with OSB panels
• Interior wall and ceiling insulation with Métisse®, an insulation material made from recycled used textiles, which is just as effective as glass wool
• Wooden cottages

Accessibility Project

The Civil Engineering Department at the IUT de Nîmes has been nominated for the 6th annual Handi-Friends Awards, which recognize initiatives by higher education institutions aimed at promoting the independence and inclusion of students with disabilities. This year, nearly 40 applications were received and submitted to the Handi-Friends Awards jury, which nominated three projects in each category: Handi-Integration, Handi-Awareness, and Handi-Innovation.

The project presented by the Civil Engineering Department is the “Accessible Housing Technical Platform,” which was selected in the Disability Awareness category.

Batim’handicap

On November 21, 2016, the Nîmes University Institute of Technology (IUT) inaugurated its “Bâtim’Handicap” accessible housing technical platform in the presence of several prominent figures from academia, politics, and the construction industry.

This platform, designed to test accessibility features for people with disabilities, was developed by students in the Civil Engineering (GC) department in collaboration with the Electrical and Industrial Computer Engineering (GEII) and Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (GMP) departments.