CompactHabit internationalizes the eMii system by constructing a university residence hall in the French city of Pau.

• This will be the first project for the company outside of Spain.
• The residence hall will have 217 rooms and 2 suites.

For the first time, Compact Habit will take its modular building system outside of Spain by constructing a university residence hall in the French city of Pau. The Catalonian company, creator of the eMii system (total industrialized modular building, eMii for its acronym in Spanish), shall form part of a team of French companies that won the public tender for a design and building contract. The team includes a construction company, two engineering firms and two architects’ studios to ensure the project’s success. The project developer is Bearnaise Habitat, a public enterprise that has been awarded the contract for €8,305, 451.16, VAT included. The works are expected to last 10 months. The team of companies consists of VALORIsport, Compact Habit, SACER PAU, 2A Design, C&A Candarchitectes, Hélioproject and GIRUS ingénierie.

The university residence hall in Pau shall have 217 individual rooms and 2 suites for students. The building will be completely constructed using the Compact Habit eMii system and shall consist of a ground floor and 4 additional floors. The ground floor will have access to the building and common areas, while the other floors shall connect rooms with various shared courtyards, thereby giving the façade a more attractive composition.

The eMii System

The eMii system, created and patented by Compact Habit, lets any building that can be designed be constructed using a repeatable unit: multifamily dwellings, residence halls, vacation complexes, offices, hospitals, and schools among others. The modules are fully finished and equipped when they leave the factory; they are then stacked directly at the construction site. Other residence halls in Catalonia have been constructed using this system, specifically in Manresa, Girona and Sant Cugat del Vallès. Also, healthcare facilities have been built in Reus and Girona, government subsidized housing in Banyoles and a tourist complex in Cambrils.