Co-leadership of the Construction21 thematic dossier: “Frugality & Simplicity: Doing More with Less”

The Franck Boutté Studio co-led the Construction21 thematic dossier: “Frugality & Simplicity: Doing More with Less.”

Coordinated by the Sustainable Building Plan, the PUCA – Urban Planning, Construction, and Architecture Plan / DGALN – Housing, Urban Planning, and Renovation, PropLink, France Villes & Territoires Durables, and Atelier Franck Boutté, this dossier explores a central question for urban planning and construction: how to transform ecological and material constraints into project drivers.

In this context, two concepts structure the discussion.

Sobriety first defines a framework for action. It aims to reduce the consumption of resources, energy, and land in order to limit the environmental impact of projects.

Frugality, for its part, proposes a different way of designing. It invites us to question the fundamentals of the project: In a context of limited resources, the challenge is clear: invest less in quantity and more in quality, to strengthen the resilience of regions, preserve life, and sustainably improve quality of life.

• utility over size,
• use over object,
• durability over immediate performance.

This issue brings together analyses and feedback from numerous contributors, including: Christophe Rodriguez (French Institute for Building Performance – Ifpeb), Franck Boutté (Atelier Franck Boutté), Philippe Madec (associate), Stéphane Signoret (Suo Sciente), Albane Gaspard (ADEME), Thomas Philippon (Ekopolis), Dominique Gauzin-Müller (Movement for Happy and Creative Frugality in Architecture and Land Management), Sébastien Maire (France Villes & Territoires Durables), as well as Loïc Frayssinet and Hélène Buisson (PERMABITAT).

The feature was edited by Laetitia Comito-Bertrand, Sébastien Maire, Pia Le Weller, and Alix Derouin / Franck Boutté.

The feature is available on Construction21.

This editorial project was launched at the initiative of Stéphanie Obadia.