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PhD Subject

Association: LAREP – ENSP Versailles-Marseille (France) and Landscape Architecture Group – WageningenUR (Netherlands).

Resumé français 

Contribution du projet de paysage à la transition énergétique en France et aux Pays-Bas

Concepts, pratiques, recommandations

La recherche s’inscrit dans le débat actuel sur la transition énergétique. De tous temps gestion de l’énergie et aménagement de l’espace ont entretenu une relation forte, la première ayant fatalement des impacts sur le second. La période que nous vivons ne fait pas exception. Mais le paysage est-il un sujet de préoccupation? Si oui : dans quelle mesure, auprès de qui, et à quel moment du processus décisionnel ?   
Le cadre d’étude s’appuie sur différents « concepts prônant l’usage et la production raisonnés de l’énergie » : métabolisme urbain,économie circulairecradle-to-cradle. À travers une critique du fonctionnement linéaire « produire-consommer-jeter » de notre société, ils peuvent informer des choix visant à une meilleure soutenabilité, avec des retombées en matière d’aménagement.
La recherche interroge des projets de territoire « prônant l’usage et la production raisonnée de l’énergie ». Une comparaison entre France et Pays-Bas, nations engagées dans la transition énergétique et ayant chacune une longue tradition en architecture du paysage, mais avec des différences, permet d’analyser la manière dont paysage et aménagement du territoire sont pris en compte et quelles stratégies et synergies de gestion énergétique sont développées. Le rôle spécifique des paysagistes concepteurs est également exploré. 
Où l’on découvre que l’aspect paysager favorise l’entrée du cadre de vie dans les enjeux de la transition énergétique, faute de quoi des projets bien que techniquement performants risquent d’être dépourvus de qualité spatiale. 
Appliquant une grille interprétative, la recherche vise à promouvoir des stratégies et des pratiques de projet intégrant la nécessaire composante paysagère.

Anglais

Contribution of landscape design for energy transition in France and the Netherlands

Concepts, practices, recommendations

The PhD proposal relates to the ongoing discourse on energy transition, starting from the consideration that the energy transition generates a landscape transition too (Nadaï and Horst 2010), thanks to the long-lasting relationship between energy management and spatial organization (De Pascali 2008). The landscape is considered, according to the European Landscape Convention, as “cadre de vie”, as perceived and conceived by the people and whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors (Council of Europe 2000). The concept of landscape also refers to a design category – landscape design and planning – that can have a central role in the transition processes, supporting decision making and knowledge synthesis (Nassauer 2012), thanks to the landscape’s visible and invisible cultural and societal components.

Different “energy-conscious concepts” have been developed over the past years to advance a more careful thought about the linear functioning of ‘take-make-waste’ of our society. We selected urban metabolism, circular economy, cradle to cradle and territorial ecology, to find out and analyze their operational principles with relevance for project strategies, that in this research I refer to as “energy-conscious design”, referring to the conscious handling of natural resources, energy and materials and the utilization of infrastructure, technology or other systems and strategies to build a spatial/landscape project, considering production, supply, consumption, transformation and disposal of resources.

The research aims is to examine to what extent an “energy conscious design” is a conscious landscape design. Therefore the subject inquired are projects implementing an “energy conscious design” in the framework of the energy transition and  to analyze how landscape is shaped and transformed. The skills and roles of landscape architecture (as discipline) and landscape design (as activity) in project teams and energy-space nexus in public policy are questioned too.

The research considers case studies in France and in the Netherlands, nations that have in their political agenda strategies in order to transit from fossil fuels towards renewable and carbon-free sources. Furthermore, the two nations have an important and long lasting tradition in landscape architecture, but with different role and involvement in energy transition process. The comparison between countries can put in perspective the processes and the issues of energy transition in relation to space and landscape.

Method

The overall research is conducted as research on design (Brink and Bruns 2014), combining project analysis and practitioners discourse. It’s divided in three parts.

  1. Literature survey

The literature study is carried out on three subjects:

  • “energy conscious concept”: urban metabolism, circular economy, cradle to cradle, territorial ecology
  • energy landscape planning and designing
  • Setting of landscape architecture and energy transition policy in France and the Netherlands.

2. Projects analysis

To analyze French and Dutch energy landscape shaping projects, developed on the basis of this “energy-conscious design”, two embedded cases in France (TEPOS) and one embedded cases in the Netherlands will be selected.

3. Practitioners enquiries

The enquiries about practitioners in France and in the Netherlands, it’s conducted through three methods.

  • Online questionnaires survey to professional association as French landscape architects, members of the Federation Française du Paysage (FFP) and at the “Netherlands Association for Garden and Landscape Architecture” (NVTL).
  • Semi structured enquiries with the landscape architects, working in the team project of the selected embedded cases in France and in the Netherlands. This part is positioned the part about practice, to underline the sub-questions about of landscape architects role.

References:

Barles Sabine (2008), “Comprendre et maîtriser le métabolisme urbain et l’empreinte environnementale des villes”, Responsabilité et environnement, n° 52, octobre, pp. 21-26.

Brink van den Adri, Bruns Diedrich (2014), “Strategies for Enhancing Landscape Architecture Research”, Landscape Research, n° 39, pp. 7-20.

Buclet Nicolas (2011), Écologie industrielle et territoriale: stratégies locales pour un développement durable, Presses universitaires du Septentrion, Villeneuve d’Ascq.

Council of Europe (2000), European Landscape convention, Florence.

De Pascali Paolo (2008), Città ed energia: la valenza energetica dell’organizzazione insediativa, Franco Angeli, Milano.

McDonough William, Braungart Michael (2002), Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things, North Point Press a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York

Nadai Alain, Van Der Horst Dan (2010), “Landscapes of energies”, Landscape Research, n° 35 (2), pp. 143-155.

Nassauer Joan Iverson (2012), “Landscape as medium and method for synthesis in urban ecological design”, Landscape Urban Planning, n° 106, p. 221-229.

Sijmons Dirk (eds.) (2014), Landscape and energy. Designing transition, nai010 publishers, Rotterdam.

Stremke Sven, Van Den Dobbelsteen Andy (eds.) (2013), Sustainable energy landscape. Designing, Planning and development, CRC Press.

Vandevyvere Han,  Stremke Sven (2012), “Urban Planning for a Renewable Energy Future: Methodological Challenges and Opportunities from a Design Perspective.” Sustainability, n° 4(6), pp. 1309-1328.

Publications :

Pistoni Roberta (2018), “Transition énergetique en France et aux Pays-Bas”. Urbanisme, Hors-série n° 64 (Les nouveaux paysages de la transition énergétique), p. 48-49.

Pistoni Roberta, Bonin Sophie (2017), “Urban metabolism planning and designing approach between quantitative analysis and urban landscape”. City, Territory and Architecture. 4:20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410-017-0076-y2013

Related website:

Landscape Architecture Group – Wageningen University