France/ Architecture students at the service of this Oise commune
The town of Chaumont-en-Vexin has rolled out the red carpet for a group of architecture students with one aim: to work with local residents to imagine the future of this rural commune.
In partnership with the École nationale supérieure d'architecture Paris-La Villette, the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Normandie, the association Didattica and the association Petites Cités de Caractère association, the commune of Chaumont-en-Vexin welcomed a residency of architecture students from May 11 to 19, to work on the town's Pluriannual Heritage Development Program.
During and after the residency, a public feedback session took place and proposals were made.
Today, the town and its residents are considering how to take these proposals and put them into practice.
The aim of the residency
"In all, some twenty students of ten different nationalities from the two schools, accompanied by their supervisors, came to Chaumont-en-Vexin for ten days to brainstorm ideas for the town.
Emmanuelle Lamarque, Mayor of Chaumont-en-Vexin
It's real student work, because they're graded, with educational objectives behind them, particularly for the teachers who run the residence.
Over a period of ten days, the students focused their attention on places and spaces where heritage can be enhanced.
"For example, the Rue de la République is an important meeting place. There's also the hillock, the stairs leading up to the church and the plateau above. These spaces, which are also an extension of Rue de la République, should be enhanced. "
A number of vacant communal buildings have also been the subject of reflections on how to bring them back to life.
The work also focused on green spaces, "so that the housing estates on the outskirts of the town have a natural, pedestrian route to the town center", explains the mayor.
Some thirty residents involved in the project
While the students were housed directly in the homes of Chaumont residents during their residency, the project was carried out in collaboration with the local community. This was done with the participation of local residents.
"With this idea of leveraging heritage, the town didn't want it to be just a matter for scholars. Franck Buffeteau, architect DPLG and urban planner also taking part in the residency, and founder of the EntrElieux association.
In the run-up to the residency, Franck Buffeteau conducted two revelation workshops with a group of around 30 residents, which helped to highlight the territory's singular outlines.
"The idea was to bring out the points of interest for the people of Chaumont, what they liked, what they wanted to develop in the commune".
Emmanuelle Lamarque
In the end, the student residence was an extension of these workshops, as the people made aware of the workshops also took part in the residence's workshops.
"By involving the people of Chaumont at this stage of the project, we know that we are in tune with the expectations of local residents," explains the mayor.
A real willingness on the part of the commune to work on joint projects.
"The idea is to know how to move forward together, in particular through citizen involvement," says the architect.
From reflection to action
While the residency raised the impetus for change in the Chaumont-en-Vexin area, the action part remains.
"We'd like to pursue this opening-up with local residents, and see in the method how projects, when they come out, are questioned, how to get hold of them and how to plan them over time. How can we formulate the right questions so that if architects or landscape architects wish to work with us, they can respond to the needs of local residents and the community as a whole?
Franck Buffeteau
Today's questions are simple, but not easy to answer.
If the revelation workshops and the architects' residency have answered the question of what you want to do, how you want to do it and why you want to do it this way, these are the questions to which answers will have to be found.
"This will be done through formulation aids or experiments to measure the use value of the changes made," explains the architect.
The Petites Cités de Caractère label in sight
This stage is currently being finalized, before the final projects are submitted to the town council for approval. With regard to the commune's financing capacity, Emmanuelle Lamarque is counting, among other subsidies, on the "Petites Cités de Caractère" label, which is due to be applied for in July.
Franck Buffeteau would like to point out that, although the project originates from two schools, it concerns real, concrete cases.
"It triggers a different way of working, because it's about a transformation of the city that seems most desirable at a given moment, depending on the circumstances and collective choices. This lays the foundations for a 20-year transformation. Every move we make in public space has an impact on everything else. "
The mayor of Chaumont-en-Vexin does not give a deadline for the concrete implementation of the projects.
Source: actu.fr/hauts-de-france
