A new operational practice has emerged: the valorisation of the local rootedness of architectural projects from the moment they are realised in close collaboration with clients, suppliers and local contexts that allow the technological and production know-how to be fed. At a time of hyper-normalisation and hyper-regularisation, it is the singular, the local that emerges. This hypothesis gives rise to a new methodological practice: hybridization, which goes beyond simple one-off adaptation.

We note that it functions on the principle of transformation, or even the genesis of new constructive systems. Hybridization emerges from the interaction between different systems, different contexts, different labour markets and skill structures, different infrastructures. Hybridization of technical solutions characterizes the production of architectural equipment and housing today.

The design of a crossing originates in a fundamental architectural act: lifting a weight. There is no architecture without weightlessness. The geometry and static layout of the bridge are an expression of weightlessness. But this is not the only objective of the crossing.

It is also about being able to contain a large space, the surrounding landscape. This is a particularity of the crossing structure: when one crosses the void contained by the deck, a singular relationship with the environment is established…

Ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPC) is a new family of materials. They have exceptional mechanical characteristics as well as durability, resistance to abrasion, resistance to chemical aggression or to bad weather (freeze-thaw, sea water, etc.).

For some fifteen years now, in partnership with Lafarge in particular and the software developer Sofistik, C&E has contributed its expertise, through multiple experiments on all scales, to a series of projects based on Ultra High Performance organic or metallic fibre concrete.

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Many buildings have been built without taking into account the seismic risk. Most of these buildings are old or were built before the existence of a set of recommendations. Such buildings can be extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. Under these conditions, it is understandable that the examination of the conditions of “aggravation” of vulnerability must be accompanied by proposals for work to improve this structural vulnerability.

The aim of our work, carried out for the most part in collaboration with Professor Victor Davidovici, is to develop a generic approach aimed at improving the methods for analysing the vulnerability of fragile constructions and possible strengthening methods.

For each project, it is necessary to determine the regulatory environment in which the project is being carried out and to develop a unique approach based on the existing situation in order to define the possible and necessary modes of improvement, reinforcement or repair.

To fully integrate the reuse of materials, construction systems and, more generally, buildings, a form of positive transgression must be organised. This means being able to consciously deviate from certain rules that could have the opposite consequences to those for which they are used, while of course being extremely attentive to the actual risk-taking and to securing it through analysis and diagnosis.