18/03/2024

Biocalcis® Patrimoine: a look back at 4 years of partnership with ECP

In 2020, a partnership was signed with ECP – company for heritage conservation – to market the Biocalcis® process in its application for stone restoration. Since then, 15 projects have been completed to consolidate and repair weathered stone on old buildings.

What does the Biocalcis® process involve?

The patented Biocalcis® process, developed by Soletanche Bachy, is an innovative biotechnology that imitates the natural processes of calcification to cement the soil in place, while maintaining its initial porosity.

In addition to its technical qualities, the Biocalcis® process has a number of environmental benefits: as it does not use cementitious materials, its carbon footprint is reduced, and it respects biodiversity because it does not impact the natural environment.

Biocalcis® Patrimoine, for the regeneration of stone in historic buildings

Applied in the field of heritage restoration, Biocalcis® restores weakened stone to its original cohesion without altering its permeability or aesthetic appearance.

ECP’s first use of Biocalcis® Patrimoine on a worksite was in December 2020 to restore around 800 m² of facades on an old building in Paris. Following the spray treatment, the soft limestone facing stones of the structure regained their original cohesion, giving a new lease of life to the Haussmann facades of this Parisian building.

Following the success of this project, ECP has completed 14 other projects using Biocalcis® Patrimoine, including 4 in the first two months of 2024. The ratio is balanced between traditional facades located mainly in the Paris region and historic monuments and religious buildings. These include the Church of Notre Dame de Carentan-les-Marais in Normandy and the Château de La Norville in the Paris region. An application was also recently developed in Portugal at the Machado de Castro National Museum in Coimbra.

The latest project is a Parisian building on Avenue Simon Bolivar, where 385m² of facade have been treated using the process.

An innovative process acclaimed by the industry

Biocalcis® Patrimoine has already won two awards. In 2021, at the technical and digital meetings organised by the FFB PÔLE CONSTRUCTION PARIS IDF, the process won an Innovation Award. More recently, in 2022, it was awarded the Care d’Argent in the “Renovation, restructuring, renovation and elevation” category by the Geste d’Or.

Who is ECP – Entreprise pour la Conservation du Patrimoine?

A direct player in the heritage sector, ECP has specialised for 30 years in the research and development of technical solutions for heritage conservation and restoration.