Reinventing cleanliness in Paris: field research with sanitation workers to develop less polluting practices tailored to their profession and the city’s identity.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
When you look at the sidewalks of Paris, you sometimes see flashes of neon green dotting the asphalt: fragments of street brooms that, as they wear down, scatter throughout the city.
The Parisian green broom first appeared in 1980, and it is by no means an insignificant object: it combines materials, manufacturing processes, and assembly components whose environmental impact raises questions about its entire life cycle—not to mention its ergonomics for street cleaners. How can a tool designed to clean end up polluting?
“Balais de Paris” is an action-research project that examines the current tools and practices of Parisian street cleaning, viewing design as a means to foster dialogue between urban planning, the environment, and urban trades.
The method employed by the designer is based on a socio-historical analysis of street cleaning in Paris and on research conducted with street cleaners, combining fieldwork and co-design workshops. The goal is to develop multidisciplinary solutions that are less polluting and better suited to the demands of the profession and the city’s identity. The project will culminate in a white paper, synthesizing the collected data and illustrating alternative concepts, as well as an exhibition offering a behind-the-scenes look at the field research.
The stakes go far beyond the broom itself. This research focuses above all on decarbonizing the city and highlighting a profession that is essential to Paris’s livability—one that is visible yet still too little known,
When you look at the sidewalks of Paris, you sometimes see flashes of neon green dotting the asphalt: fragments of street brooms that, as they wear down, scatter throughout the city.
The Parisian green broom first appeared in 1980, and it is by no means an insignificant object: it combines materials, manufacturing processes, and assembly components whose environmental impact raises questions about its entire life cycle—not to mention its ergonomics for street cleaners. How can a tool designed to clean end up polluting?
“Balais de Paris” is an action-research project that examines the current tools and practices of Parisian street cleaning, viewing design as a means to foster dialogue between urban planning, the environment, and urban trades.
The method employed by the designer is based on a socio-historical analysis of street cleaning in Paris and on research conducted with street cleaners, combining fieldwork and co-design workshops. The goal is to develop multidisciplinary solutions that are less polluting and better suited to the demands of the profession and the city’s identity. The project will culminate in a white paper, synthesizing the collected data and illustrating alternative concepts, as well as an exhibition offering a behind-the-scenes look at the field research.
The stakes go far beyond the broom itself. This research focuses above all on decarbonizing the city and highlighting a profession that is essential to Paris’s livability—one that is visible yet still too little known,
THE TEAM
Marine Le Razavet is a designer who has developed a practice where people, materials, and craftsmanship come together. At the intersection of industrial design, publishing, and research—fields in which she has worked in recent years—Marine cultivates a passion for materials and their shaping. Committed to environmental issues, she draws inspiration for her work from materials research and experimentation. She produces some of her objects and furniture herself in her studio in La Briche, Saint-Denis.
Marine Le Razavet is a designer who has developed a practice where people, materials, and craftsmanship come together. At the intersection of industrial design, publishing, and research—fields in which she has worked in recent years—Marine cultivates a passion for materials and their shaping. Committed to environmental issues, she draws inspiration for her work from materials research and experimentation. She produces some of her objects and furniture herself in her studio in La Briche, Saint-Denis.
