The city of Paris has launched an international consultation, calling on architects and designers to design new urban furniture to adapt public spaces to episodes of extreme heat.
“The perfect symbol of the possible reconciliation between the respect for Parisian heritage beauty and the necessary adaptation to climate change.” The city of Paris announced on Wednesday the launch of an international consultation for the creation of new urban furniture, in order to allow public spaces to adapt to increasingly frequent episodes of extreme heat.
“Since the summer of 2021, the capital has experimented with several shading devices where tree planting is not possible, in order to protect Parisians from the effects of urban heat islands,” the city of Paris said in a statement.
An online consultation
Architects, designers, and urban planners are invited to contribute their ideas for this shading project, which is part of the city’s bioclimatic urban planning plan.
No specific guidelines on what this new urban furniture should be, except that it must “fit into Parisian heritage”. Adaptation should also be the guiding principle for the submitted projects, so that this urban furniture can function in different configurations.
“Our public spaces must adapt to cope with heatwaves, this consultation should allow us to accelerate the deployment of shading devices by the end of the term. There is urgency,” said Dan Lert, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of ecological transition, climate plan, water and energy.
The consultation is open online on the Maximilien platform. Interested parties have until October 10th to submit their responses.
