Seminar ‘Maintaining. Architecture and maintenance, what we care about’
Prescribing and maintaining in public spaces: Challenges for developers
A change of scenery for this eighth session as the seminar moves to Coeur Défense to meet with the Paris La Défense teams. Heir to a unique urban form and institutional history, the developer is also the operator of public spaces that are becoming heritage sites as much as they are being reconfigured. Though not fully embraced, this form of integrated management has become established as crises, reinvestments, and the absence of municipal support have unfolded.
– How does the developer reconcile his mission to preserve an existing structure that is not just limited to the immutability of infrastructure, but also forms a composite heritage subject to the ravages of time and constant renewal of its models?
How do maintenance considerations influence project owners’ specifications and project design processes?
– How does the operator’s gaze distract the designer from the illusion of “a world made up of finished, solid things that are impermeable to change or subsequent intervention” (Pauline Lefebvre, 2024, Maintenance et dé-projection)
Our two speakers, David Guerra and Damien Oberlé, will share their experiences to reveal the material fabric of these spaces filled with objects, and bring into dialogue the temporalities that clash within the depth of the project in a common language where designing, prescribing, and maintaining are conjugate with knowing.
And we will have the pleasure of welcoming Daniel Florentin, a researcher from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, who will kick off the discussion.
Date: Friday, December 12, 2025, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Venue: Cœur Défense, Tour B, 110 Espl. du Général de Gaulle, 92400 Courbevoie.
Participation is free but registration is required. Please register here.
Attendance is limited. Kindly let us know if you are unable to attend.
The seminar will be held in French.
Organized by architectural agency SCAU and Jérôme Denis.
Find out more about the seminar program and objectives