The Fondation Jacques Rougerie – Académie des beaux-arts was featured during the opening roundtable of the Symposium of the Local High Council for Climate and Biodiversity, held at the Mediterranean University Center as part of UNOC 2025.
This roundtable brought together four of the Foundation’s experts to share their perspectives on the future of coastal territories and the need to rethink urban models in the face of the climate emergency.
🗺️ Arnaud Réaux opened the session by questioning our relationship with rivers and waterways. He advocated for an urbanism that reconnects with rivers and streams, weaving ties with the history of places and building cities that are in dialogue with their natural geography.
🌊 Jacques ROUGERIE presented the mission of the Foundation and spotlighted the projects developed by its Junior Ambassadors across five continents: bio-inspired solutions such as restored mangrove systems and sand-retention devices to combat coastal erosion. Inventive initiatives that reimagine living environments adapted to rising sea levels.
🏛️ Eric Daniel-Lacombe emphasized the importance of designing architecture with an awareness of the invisible—marine environments, unstable ground, and underwater currents. He demonstrated how the young talents supported by the Foundation are creating reflexive systems and a new resilient architecture more attuned to living ecosystems and the uncertainties of climate change.
🏙️ Carlos Moreno closed the session by calling for a break with traditional urban zoning. He championed a city of proximity, circularity, and empathy—designed to reduce citizens’ mental load while responding to environmental imperatives.
🎙️ The roundtable was skillfully and thoughtfully moderated by Damienne Provitolo, geographer and researcher, who brought together disciplines and perspectives with great fluidity.
🙏 A powerful moment to reaffirm the role of the Fondation Jacques Rougerie as an international platform for expertise, knowledge-sharing, and action in support of coastal adaptation and territorial innovation.