This fast development fosters today an extensive review of structural systems and constructive principles suited to the material’s specific properties and design process. While steel and concrete have shaped our city landscape for more than a century, timber cannot stand for a pure substitute, but it has to find its own structural and architectural expression.

Clarifying mis-used or mis-read environmental concepts

We live in times when cities must reinvent themselves. The impact of climate change is more and more visible, as in France where the five hottest years since 1900 have occurred during the last decade. In this context, a good environmental design based on multidisciplinary urban engineering competences is crucial for the future development of our cities. More specifically, urban physics must be at the center of the design choices in order to improve urban living. Resilience facing climate change should be conducted also by controlling the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.