Offshore Urban Extension

An innovative eco-district built in the sea

Designed by the architects Renzo Piano and Valode et Pistre, the buildings being constructed in the sea will be completed at the end of 2024. It’s an enormous technical and environmental challenge.

Work on Mareterra project began in autumn 2017. This new eco-district being built on six hectares of reclaimed land will be home to 60,000 m2 of luxury housing, an extension to the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco’s cultural and convention centre, a one-hectare park, a marina and public facilities.

Monaco: A pionneer in seawater heat pumps

Since 1963, the Principality has been using the Mediterranean Sea as a source of energy – most of the buildings along its coastline are equipped with a heat pump system.

Monaco was one of the first countries to use the seawater from its coast as a source of renewable energy, and has been doing so for more than half a century. The Principality installed its first seawater heat pump in 1963, at the Rainier swimming stadium on the port, to heat the water in the swimming pool.

Today, there are more than 80, laid out in twenty or so seawater loops and producing almost 20% of the national energy needs!