Dive into PEFC at Paris Aquatics Centre
One of the landmark buildings at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics was the Aquatics Centre. Mathis chose PEFC-certified material to demonstrate its corporate commitment to sustainable construction.
Dive into PEFC at Paris Aquatics Centre
24 March 2025 Construction
One of the landmark buildings at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics was the Aquatics Centre. Created for the Metropole du Grand Paris using main contractor Bouygues Bâtiment Ile de France, the project used PEFC-certified material delivered by French company Mathis.
The Aquatics Centre was one of only two permanent sports facilities built for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and will now be used by residents of the Seine-Saint-Denis area and the wider French swimming community.
Using timber and bio-based building materials, the Aquatics Centre is a low-carbon building with a distinctive curved roof that is supported by the largest concave timber frame in the world – spanning 90m and using a framework consisting of 2,700m3 of wood.
PEFC certified timber was used to provide assurances of responsible timber sourcing with around 95% of the wood used to build the structure and cladding being PEFC certified. Mathis chose PEFC-certified material to demonstrate its corporate commitment to sustainable construction.
During the build, Mathis collaborated closely with the project’s management teams and contractors, to ensure that the demanding expectations of both the Olympic Committee and SOLIDEO (the organisation responsible for delivering both the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games), were met.
Created by Dutch studio VenhoevenCS architecture+urbanism and French studio Ateliers 2/3/4, The 5,000m2 roof is also covered in photovoltaic panels, making it one of France’s largest urban solar farms and able to supply 20% of all required electricity for the building.
“It was absolutely essential to ensure the best system possible, so we could say that we have certified wood. We were able to rely on a robust system because it carries the PEFC label,” said Mathis CEO, Frank Mathis.
“The fact that we have a certification system like PEFC obliges all companies to come into line. This expectation must go down the whole (supply) chain. The question doesn’t have to be whether you feel like it or not. Those who want to continue to work have to get involved – the whole chain has to be part of this.”
Photo credits Jad Sylla