Automne de la Science à la BHVP - Conférence « Dentelle urbaine : tisser un réseau de fraîcheur au cœur du Sentier »

As part of the Automne de la Science 2026, architect and engineer Juliette Galin invites you to discover a fascinating project focusing on the Le Sentier district, proposing a solution for living there in the age of global warming.

Urban lace: weaving a network of coolness in the heart of Le Sentier What if the solutions to tomorrow's climate challenges were already hidden in the interstices of the existing city?

As extreme heatwaves become more frequent and challenge how we inhabit and navigate urban centers, this conference offers an exploration of the Le Sentier district through its hidden spaces, porosities and the invisible resources of its urban fabric.

Conducted as part of an architectural final-year project by Juliette Galin, this research draws on extensive archival and mapping work.

Le Sentier emerges as a territory made up of a multitude of passages, courtyards, ground-floor spaces and basements that are currently underutilised.

Inherited from the textile industry that shaped the district for over a century, these spaces constitute an unexpected land and thermal reserve in the heart of Paris, forming a continuous network that remains imperceptible from the public realm.

The conference will present how this existing fabric could serve as the basis for a new way of getting around the city.

By reactivating vacant ground floors, opening up inner courtyards and connecting through-spaces, it becomes possible to imagine a pedestrian network offering more shade, coolness and comfort during periods of intense heat.

A true urban lace thus takes shape: a network of pedestrian and cooling continuities connecting spaces that are currently fragmented.

Combining urban history, cartography and architectural design, this reflection invites us to view the built city as a resource for climate change adaptation.

Rather than adding new infrastructure, it explores the potential of already existing spaces to invent urban routes that are more pleasant, more resilient and better suited to future conditions.