On February 5, 2026, Jacques ROUGERIE addressed the engineering students of École Polytechnique during a conference entitled: “Dreamed Architecture, Prospective Architecture,” presenting his career path and the projects led by the Jacques Rougerie Foundation – Académie des Beaux-Arts.
At the heart of the lecture was a reflection on how contemporary challenges—rising sea levels, climate change, and territorial transformations—are now profoundly shaping architectural foresight.
Jacques ROUGERIE revisited the very history of prospective thinking. In the 1960s, it was largely disconnected from environmental realities. As early as the 1970s, however, he championed a pioneering approach that integrated the early foundations of ecological and systemic awareness, well before these issues became central to public debate.
Far from being abstract, this forward-looking vision remains firmly grounded in the geographical and cultural realities of the places in which it unfolds. It is an architecture that “keeps its feet on the ground,” while opening new horizons—from coastlines to underwater worlds, and even into space—to imagine the habitats of tomorrow.
The conference also highlighted the multidisciplinary approach advocated by the Foundation, ensuring that proposed solutions address complex challenges that cannot be treated in isolation.
Through the work carried out by its Junior Ambassadors across five continents, the Foundation demonstrates how this prospective vision is already being translated into concrete projects capable of supporting territories as they confront major climate transformations.
The Jacques Rougerie Foundation warmly thanks Brice Piechaczyk for his invitation and for the high quality of the exchanges with the engineering students, underscoring the importance of dialogue among architects, engineers, and scientists from all backgrounds in shaping sustainable and desirable living environments.