International Urban Planning Consultation for the Greater Porte des Alpes Region

Paris, July 6, 2022 – The multidisciplinary consortium led by Lafayette, in collaboration with SLETH, Etablissement, Setec, Citec, Ville Ouverte, Ingérop, Carbone 4, and Cynthia Ghorra-Gobin has been selected as the winner of the international urban planning competition for the Grande Porte des Alpes region.

Launched in November 2021 by the Greater Lyon Metropolitan Area in collaboration with the French government, the cities of Bron, Chassieu, and Saint-Priest, as well as Sytral and Sepal, this innovative regional planning initiative aims to define three contrasting scenarios for the development of the Greater Porte des Alpes region by 2050. Lafayette will lead one of these scenarios, alongside two other international teams.

As a region hosting major metropolitan infrastructure (such as Bron Airport and Eurexpo), the Grande Porte des Alpes is almost entirely shaped by the urban development model of the last century, which was based on the consumption of fossil fuels. By developing an awareness of these transitional areas, we have come to believe that the transition is taking place there, far from the city center. Urban planning in these areas embodies our society’s confrontation with its own physical limits. This conviction is shared by Greater Lyon, which is addressing the need to rebalance the relationship between the center and the periphery by launching the International Consultation for the Grande Porte des Alpes.

Traditional urban planning tools do not seem to be effective in these areas. To identify new approaches that are both forward-looking and practical, we are bringing together a European, multidisciplinary team.

Lafayette (Paris, lead architect and urban planner), SLETH (Copenhagen and Aarhus, architect and urban planner) and Institution (Paris, landscape architect) will develop an approach to the project through the lens of plants and, more broadly, living organisms, which serve as catalysts for new, low-carbon lifestyles.

To transition from a service area to a resource area, Setec Organization (Lyon and Paris, economic programming) and Carbon 4 (Lyon and Paris, low-carbon planning) will support economic stakeholders in a low-carbon planning and climate change adaptation initiative.

Rather than planning a new major project for the Grande Porte des Alpes, Open City will provide the tools to work with the residents of Bron, Chassieu, and Saint-Priest to bring to light the many aspects of daily life that form the foundation of their shared future.

Engineering firms in Lyon Setec Energy and Environment (Lyon and Paris, environment), Citec (Lyon and Geneva, transportation), Ingérop (Lyon and Paris, infrastructure) will contribute their expertise and on-the-ground knowledge, while the academic Cynthia Ghorra-Gobin (Paris, geography) will provide an objective perspective on the urbanization of this region.

Team

Lafayette, Paris (lead architect and urban planner)
Sleth, Copenhagen, and Aarhus (architect and urban planner)

Establishment, Paris (landscape architect)

Setec Organisation, Lyon and Paris (economic planning)

Setec Energy and Environment, Lyon and Paris (environment)

Citec, Lyon, and Geneva (mobility)

Ville Ouverte, Paris (housing program)

Ingérop, Lyon and Paris (infrastructure)

Carbone 4, Lyon, and Paris (low-carbon planning)

Cynthia Ghorra-Gobin, Paris (geography)

Client Greater Lyon

Program International urban planning consultation in the Greater Porte des Alpes region