New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Reconnecting with nature

Email user
quentin.chef@gmail.com

Basic information
Initiative title
Kagome Project

Full initiative Title
Kagome Project : a post-formed elastic gridshell made of intertwined reused timber laths

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
An elastic gridshell is an efficient constructive typology for crossing large spans with little material. A flat elastic grid is built before buckling the structure into shape, in active and post-formed bending.
Kagome is made 100% of wood : its laths are interlaced to form a japanese traditionnal pattern, called Kagome, which makes the structure naturally braced. This pavillion is standing at the Parc de la Butte du Chapeau Rouge, a public square in the working-class area of Paris.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
National

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
France

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Paris

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Construire l'Architecture
  Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation
  First name of representative: Quentin
  Last name of representative: Chef
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: France
  Function: Engineer Architect, secretaire of the association
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 11 rue Nuyens Bâtiment 7 Appartement 731
  Town: Bordeaux
  Postal code: 33100
  Country: France
  Direct Tel: +33781288980
  E-mail: quentin.chef@gmail.com
  Website: https://www.construire-l-architecture.com/publications
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: http://www.instagram.com/construirarchi/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @construirarchi
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/ConstruirArchi/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @construirarchi
- URL: https://fr.linkedin.com/company/construire-l-architecture
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @construirarchi
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
NEB Newsletter

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Kagome project was designed, computed and built by a group of students from ENSA Paris La Villette (FRANCE), supervised by Marc LEYRAL and Quentin CHEF. Kagome is part of a constellation of projects imagined by the collective Construire l'Architecture. One goal of this association is to give young architects access to complex engineering design through open-source tools and building at scale 1. Calculation was permitted thanks to ELASTICA tool, an algorithm developped during previous experiences of such a type.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Structure as architecture

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Computationnal design

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Sustainability

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Timber

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Improving citizen's environment

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Building a gridshell obliges to carefully chose the section and the material of the laths : they have to be thick and rigid to resist but they need to be thin and tender to permit the buckling phase for erection (the grid is built flat at first). Students chose a very specific Ash tree Section for this purpose but, due to Covid crisis and Ukraine war, material was not available. In this context, they looked in a Ressourcerie, a local shop that provides reused material. An old theater setting was dismantled in panels, the panels were cut in pieces to become the laths of the pavillions. A full timber pavillion became a full RE-USED timber pavillion. Even more sustainable !

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
When Elastica was achieved in 2021 (the old "cousin" of Kagome), there were supposed to be 2 pavillions facing one another. But due to lack of resource, only one pavillion was built in 2021. Now Kagome completes the duo and restablish the perspective. At the top of the hill, the couple of timber structures offer a great perspective between the trees to enjoy the scenery of la Plaine Saint Denis.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The Parc de la Butte du Chapeau Rouge is located in the 19ème arrondissement of Paris, in a rather poor neighborhood. Under Kagome and Elastica, people from all origins come and discuss : childrens, young adults, old people. The project becomes a cover for the sun or for the wind ; you can play hide and seek or practice yoga ; or just sit on the bench and watch the leaf fall.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
The Parc de la Butte du Chapeau Rouge is a beautiful place but it suffers from the lack of equipment (no benches…) and landmarks (no fountains…). All the projects that Construire l'Architecture and ENSA Paris La Villette put in the parc (Kagome is the 4th one) are noticed by the people who live nearby and we receive very good feedback !

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
The CityHall of Paris and Paris 19 are partners form the beginning : local services help to achieve the building and inauguration, they make it possible to leave the pavillions for several months (security, maintenance…), the make plants grow on the structure. Without them and without the benevolence of the citizens of the park, nothing would have been possible.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
We believe in integrative design : structure, architecture, sustainibility, beauty, function, optimization of material… everything need to work together from the beginning if you want to success. They are not features you can add once design is done.
The attached PDF describes the process more precisely (Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture (#16, April 2022), David Publishing).

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
The design and structural analysis of such a structure requires a stage of form finding that can mainly be done: (1) With a physical model: either by a suspended net method, or an active bending model; (2) With a numerical model performed by dynamic relaxation. All these solutions have various biases and assumptions that make them reflect more or less the reality. These three methods have been applied by Happold and Liddell during the design of the Frei Otto’s Mannheim Gridshell which has allowed us to compare the results, and to highlight the significant differences between digital and physical models. Based on our own algorithm called ELASTICA, our study focuses on: (1) Comparing the results of the ELASTICA’s numerical models to load tests on physical models; (2) The identification of the various factors that can influence the results and explain the observed differences, some of which are then studied; (3) Applying the results to build a full-scale interlaced lattice elastic gridshell based on the Japanese Kagome pattern.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
Theses two innovations are completely reproductible and our website provides all the tools to do so :
- design a full timber post formed elastic gridsheel (no steel bracing)
- estimate the biases between scale model, reality and numerical models

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
Desiging Kagome started with an exploration phase of scale models (1:10 and 1:2) of traditionnal gridhsells. We compared them to numerical results thanks to our algorithm ELASTICA. It led us to discover and explain a few biases that exist when working on scale models. This achievment in research was pubished in a scientific journal (attached to our submission).

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
As explained in the previsous paragraphs, Kagome succeeded thanks to :
- students efforts during two semesters of work
- local store providing the wood (re-use timber)
- local services (City Hall) allowing our structures to be displayed in the park for a long time and for everyone to see it
- citizens of Paris 19ème appreciating the works and taking good care of it

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Kagome is the second time we use the ELASTICA algorithm (dynamic relaxation made easy for architects students) to build a gridshell in a public park. We need to give the credit to the students, who, on a very short notice, were able to : design, calculate, obtain material (with a restricted budget), prefabricate, transport, build and give access to the public.
This kind of exercise (practicing at scale 1) could be (and must be!) reproduced.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
Both
PDF
- pdf-1-22956.pdf
Web link
- https://www.construire-l-architecture.com/09b-kagome
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
In the context of global warming, people will need architects more and more. Architects who are capable to master bio-based materials for designing environment-friendly and inclusive urban spaces. We try to give students and young practitioners the engineering tools to do so. For the moment, Construire l'Architecture is a France-based association but we would be very pleased to spread our values across boarders.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
- Plaquette Finale_compressed.pdf
By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes