Trees

Wood

Eñaut Jolimon de Haraneder, Christine Deleuze, Christophe Aubertin, Anna Le Corno

Vidéo

Eñaut Jolimon de Haraneder
Christine Deleuze
Christophe Aubertin
Anna Le Corno
New uses
Biobased
Ecosystems
Low-carbon
Materials
New aesthetics
Trees
Wood construction

Wood

France has the 4th largest forest area in Europe, yet 40% of its timber is imported. At a time when Google’s London headquarters, designed in 2016 with a solid wood structure, has still not been delivered, and when the tallest wooden tower is due to be built in Tokyo in 2028, reaching a height of 100 metres, where does France stand in relation to wood? The RE2020, through the dynamic life cycle analysis, encourages the use of bio-sourced materials to promote the storage of biogenic carbon in buildings. The SNBC is explicitly banking on this sector to achieve its 2050 targets. However, the Paris Fire Brigade doctrine published in 2021 greatly complicates its use in architecture. How can these contradictions be overcome?

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Soil

Emmanuelle Déchelette, Lucie Ponard, Thomas Gaudron, Jean-Claude Morel

Vidéo

Emmanuelle Déchelette
Lucie Ponard
Thomas Gaudron
Jean-Claude Morel
Aesthetics of sustainability
Low-carbon construction
Architectural transition
Low-carbon
Trees
Wood construction

Soil

Although soil is used as a building material in many parts of the world, it has often been regarded as a waste product in France in recent decades, with little use being made of excavated soil. However, its thermal and hygrometric properties, its extremely low carbon footprint when used raw, its abundance and the natural variations in colour that it offers in every region make it a rich and inspiring material for today’s architects and designers. How can we adapt our building techniques to bring this material into line with contemporary requirements, and get rid of the vision of primitive housing that it still evokes for many people?

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“ What can we change in the way we inhabit the land to preserve the soil as an environment? ”

Soil as an environment, property as an inhabiting capacity

Elissa Al Saad

“ What can we change in the way we inhabit the land to preserve the soil as an environment? ”

Elissa Al Saad
Biodiversity
Living systems
Care
Collective
Inhabiting
Living
Soil
Trees

Soil as an environment, property as an inhabiting capacity

Elissa Al Saad is an architect and laureate of the 2023 Palladio Fellowships for her thesis on soil as an environment. By comparing different possible forms of land appropriation, she raises the issue of preserving land resources in relation to ownership. The aim is to think of property as a support for a way of inhabiting that considers land as a common good.

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La Source Vive

Neuvecelle
2025
Work in progress

Neuvecelle
2025
Work in progress

La Source Vive

La Source Vive is a new concert hall dedicated to chamber music located in Évian. The result of a collaboration between architects Patrick Bouchain and Philippe Chiambaretta. Its conch-like form is the outcome of sensory experimentation and scientific analysis aimed at achieving exceptional acoustics while blending seamlessly into its scenic surroundings. The project is housed by the Évian Resort and embodies Aline Foriel-Destezet’s commitment to promoting music. Born of her desire to support the creation of an architectural complex featuring a unique concert hall in service of a major music project, La Source Vive will be located at the Mélèzes site, in the close vicinity of La Grange au Lac, another iconic music venue designed thirty years ago by Patrick Bouchain. Together, they will form an exceptional architectural complex dedicated to music—two complementary facilities within the same institution working together to provide a complete, open, and supportive musical experience.

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Exotic trees in the City

Serge Muller

Serge Muller
Biodiversity
Living systems
Bioclimatic
Living
Trees

Exotic trees in the City

Botanist Serge Muller, a professor emeritus at the French National Museum of Natural History, is a specialist of “invasive alien species.” He discusses the concept of “nativeness” and lays out the contours of a policy opening cities to new tree species that could become important allies in coping with global warming. Based on an interview conducted in partnership with Coloco.

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“ A Canopy Plan to reduce urban heat islands. ”

Nature-based solutions

Frédéric Ségur

“ A Canopy Plan to reduce urban heat islands. ”

Frédéric Ségur
Nature-based solutions
Living systems
Living
Trees

Nature-based solutions

Frédéric Ségur is the head of the Landscape and Urban Forestry department at Lyon metropolis. There, he is in charge of the Plan Canopée, and ensures that policy actions related to water, plants, and climate are aligned. He alerts us to the fact that we must reclaim the lost knowledge of urban plantations and tree care. READ THE TRANSCRIPT

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The language of forests

Eduardo Kohn

Eduardo Kohn
Aesthetics of sustainability
Nature-based solutions
Living systems
Living
Plants
Trees
Well-being

The language of forests

The anthropologist and author of How Forests Think (University of California Press, 2013) recounts his Amazonian experience among the Runa people in order to convey to our Western minds the idea of a language that can go beyond words and symbols. A language that connects the beings of the forest, both human and non-human. A language that we seem to have forgotten…

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The Time of Trees

Francis Hallé

Francis Hallé
Nature-based solutions
Living systems
Living
Trees

The Time of Trees

The rediscovery of the ecosystems services of nature in urban environments, in particular regarding pollution mitigation and fighting against heat islands, have put a new emphasis on the intelligence of trees, as botanist Francis Hallé describes “plant architecture.” He advocates making trees more prominent in cities, though as a prerequisite to any urbanization, which implies promoting an intimate knowledge of the way they operate and their temporality in order to improve their planting, maintenance, and respect.

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Complexity, multiplicity, and adapatation within ecosystems

Alisa Andrasek

Alisa Andrasek
Architectural transition

Complexity, multiplicity, and adapatation within ecosystems

Contemporary architectural research is often fascinated by biological life but with an approach that goes beyond simple organic metaphors thanks to recent technological developments. Alisa Andrasek discusses the link between biology and her architectural practice, and her interest in the distribution of information in natural processes—a complexity that she tries to approach via big data. Her work in computational design is influenced by the convergence between information and materials, in an increasingly complex and open synthesis which enables it to go beyond the production of form and address the dynamic processes of matter itself. Alisa Andrasek is an architect, director and founder of the Biothing laboratory. She teaches at the Architectural Association of London.

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Modeling the City Using Proteins

Claire Lesieur

Vidéo

Claire Lesieur
Urban data
Living systems
Indicators
Modeling
Parametric design

Modeling the City Using Proteins

Researcher Claire Lesieur works at the CNRS Ampère Laboratory on the Go Pro project, which applies a computational model developed for protein folding to urban environments. The shape-changing properties of proteins are put to use in an attempt to map out the opportunities for urban growth that don’t involve urban sprawl.

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AI Doesn’t Replace Architects But Supports Them

Stanislas Chaillou

Vidéo

Stanislas Chaillou
Data & Design Technology

AI Doesn’t Replace Architects But Supports Them

Researcher and data scientist Stanislas Chaillou investigates how AI can enable architects to support and enhance their practice. A small sampler of a new book published by Éditions du Moniteur in March 2021.

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The Time of Trees

Francis Hallé

Francis Hallé
Nature-based solutions
Living systems
Living
Trees

The Time of Trees

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Stone

Elisabeth Bouchaud, Cyril Pressacco, Denis Macrez, Ana Hedan, Paul Vergonjeanne

Vidéo

Elisabeth Bouchaud
Cyril Pressacco
Denis Macrez
Ana Hedan
Paul Vergonjeanne
Low-carbon construction
Architectural transition
Biobased
Low-carbon
Materials
New aesthetics

Stone

Discover the inaugural lecture of the “Alma Matter” series! In a world where the myth of abundance is collapsing, this series of lectures looks at what matter really has to offer. Actors, professions, economies, temporalities, geopolitics: how do contemporary issues of creation take shape through those of matter? Each talk focuses on a particular material, and brings together its stakeholders in a dialogue. The use of stone in construction declined during the twentieth century. Today, its return is acclaimed for its qualities: inertia, durability, low-emission processing, local presence… but what techniques and applications will be used in 2024? As part of the City Metabolism Chair supported by the Université Paris Sciences & Lettres.

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Talking Data

Caroline Goulard

Vidéo

Caroline Goulard
Design technology
Urban data
Data & Design Technology
Modeling
Parametric design

Talking Data

Caroline Goulard is a data journalist and co-founder of Dataveyes. She turns collected data into digital experiences to make it more understandable for everyone. Thanks to new ways of visualization, it is now possible to understand a population’s needs and to develop services that anticipate new uses.

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Co-creating a learning society

François Taddei

François Taddei
Design technology
Urban data
New uses
Collective
Modeling

Co-creating a learning society

François Taddei is a geneticist and co-founder, with Ariel Lindner, of the Learning Planet Institute (formerly known as CRI). Conceived as a school for the 21st century, the institute combines artificial intelligence and collective intelligence to reinvent ways of learning, teaching and doing research.

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