Bioclimatic and poetic interventions for Parisian courtyards to create microclimates in a 50°C Paris.
PROJECT PRESENTATION
Paris is no longer a temperate city. Facing extreme climatic conditions that risk becoming everyday reality, the habitability of the capital is profoundly challenged. Every square meter of Paris no longer has speculative value but vital value.
Isolated within the dense urban fabric, courtyards are often neglected but represent opportunities to rethink the adaptability of the existing city. They prove ideal for experimentation and “pirate ecology” installations. These virtuous interventions are designed to support the most vulnerable residents in the context of ecological and social crises.
Despite their limited size, courtyards can host interventions that slip in without altering the building. They are frugal, carbon-neutral, and made from bio-sourced, geo-sourced, or recycled materials from the Île-de-France region.
These interventions pursue a dual objective: to provide bioclimatic solutions that improve the climate of the courtyards and the associated housing, while also inviting a more sensitive perspective on these spaces, opening the way to new ways of inhabiting the city.
Courtyards thus become spaces of refuge, freedom, and escape from thermal sieves or energy boilers in a city that has reached its limits. Together, they form an archipelago of oases: microclimates to survive.
The project unfolds in three phases: field research to characterize and diagnose courtyards; large-scale mock-ups for broad and accessible dissemination through an exhibition; and finally, a full-scale prototype designed as a demonstrator to be offered to Parisians.
Paris is no longer a temperate city. Facing extreme climatic conditions that risk becoming everyday reality, the habitability of the capital is profoundly challenged. Every square meter of Paris no longer has speculative value but vital value.
Isolated within the dense urban fabric, courtyards are often neglected but represent opportunities to rethink the adaptability of the existing city. They prove ideal for experimentation and “pirate ecology” installations. These virtuous interventions are designed to support the most vulnerable residents in the context of ecological and social crises.
Despite their limited size, courtyards can host interventions that slip in without altering the building. They are frugal, carbon-neutral, and made from bio-sourced, geo-sourced, or recycled materials from the Île-de-France region.
These interventions pursue a dual objective: to provide bioclimatic solutions that improve the climate of the courtyards and the associated housing, while also inviting a more sensitive perspective on these spaces, opening the way to new ways of inhabiting the city.
Courtyards thus become spaces of refuge, freedom, and escape from thermal sieves or energy boilers in a city that has reached its limits. Together, they form an archipelago of oases: microclimates to survive.
The project unfolds in three phases: field research to characterize and diagnose courtyards; large-scale mock-ups for broad and accessible dissemination through an exhibition; and finally, a full-scale prototype designed as a demonstrator to be offered to Parisians.
THE TEAM
Louise Chagnaud
Architect (DE-HMONP), graduated from ENSA Versailles in 2025. She currently teaches at the Paris Val-de-Seine School of Architecture. Within the Atelier du Limousin, she develops experiential pedagogy (design/build at 1:1 scale) and is interested in how concrete responses to environmental and social crises emerge through new narratives.
Paul Chambriard
Geographer-urban planner, graduate of Sorbonne University and the Paris School of Urban Planning. He is currently involved in social and affordable housing. His research focuses on cooling strategies in dense urban environments in connection with the spatial practices of Parisian public space users.
Guillaume Thiaw-Wing-Kaï
Architect (DE-HMONP), graduated from ENSA Versailles in 2020. He develops his architectural culture and constructive approach through his interest in exploration, research, and project representation via large-scale immersive models.
Louise Chagnaud
Architect (DE-HMONP), graduated from ENSA Versailles in 2025. She currently teaches at the Paris Val-de-Seine School of Architecture. Within the Atelier du Limousin, she develops experiential pedagogy (design/build at 1:1 scale) and is interested in how concrete responses to environmental and social crises emerge through new narratives.
Paul Chambriard
Geographer-urban planner, graduate of Sorbonne University and the Paris School of Urban Planning. He is currently involved in social and affordable housing. His research focuses on cooling strategies in dense urban environments in connection with the spatial practices of Parisian public space users.
Guillaume Thiaw-Wing-Kaï
Architect (DE-HMONP), graduated from ENSA Versailles in 2020. He develops his architectural culture and constructive approach through his interest in exploration, research, and project representation via large-scale immersive models.
