Why are European architects going to work on the future face of this small town in Haute-Garonne?

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It is a competition of ideas. But whose projects can sometimes come to fruition and thus lead to “a process of realization”. In any case, this is what the Europan teams are aiming for – the name of this European architectural competitioninitiated by France around thirty years ago. And in which a municipality in Lauragais is preparing to participate.

Every two years, cities of varying size apply in the hope of being selected as one of the next 50 study sites on which nearly a thousand young European architects, town planners and even landscapers (aged under 40) will have to work. In France, they are for this 18^e edition 13 to have been selected. Of which only two are in Haute-Garonne: Blagnac and Nailloux, a small town of nearly 4,000 inhabitants located south of Toulouse. ” It is a real opportunity for us”, welcomes the mayor, Lison Gleyses.

Benefit from an external and overall vision

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know about this competition. It was one of our municipal councilors, an architect by profession, who informed us about it,” she confided to Voice of Midi Lauragais. Before adding:

The subject was studied in committee, then validated by the municipal council. This approach is far from neutral. With the Town Centers, Small Towns of Tomorrow programs, with our Guide Plan… We are already very committed. Europan will allow us to have an external vision and above all will encourage us to shake up our way of thinking. And this, across the entire municipality, not just at a given point.

However, it is in a very specific area, chosen by the municipality, that the candidates having positioned themselves in the commune of Nailloux will have to work. “We have a designated site: the one located behind the Carrefour, in the Tambouret area. If we follow our project, it will welcome a third school, the sports area and the central kitchen that we imagined. L'arrangement of this space will require particular attention given the configuration of the land, she warns. But perhaps the architects who will work on our file will propose to us a more global vision of our educational establishments. »

Environmental and ecological issues to take into account

Because professionals will also have to watch over the paths. “The big problem will be to make this site accessible from the town center. Especially for people who prefer walking or cycling. And perhaps these reflections will be useful elsewhere, anticipates the councilor. I like this idea that we can think by having a more global vision of the city and addressing all the important issues of today. »

Questions that should be fully included in the theme of Europan 18: “resource”. “The fragility of the Earth's ecosystem and social crises lead us to cultivate alternative practices to harmful extraction of resources, overconsumption and pollution of living environments. Regenerative naturo-cultural projects can be imagined,” we can read on the competition website.

Thousands of registrants for less than 200 winning ideas

However, we will have to wait another year before discovering these different works. Because if the sites have indeed been selected – and presented during a session in Madrid, on Friday October 18, 2024 – registrations for the competition have not yet been opened. “There are many who can compete, but in the end, there will only be three winners per site »informs Celine Azemahead of the town planning department for the City of Nailloux.

Two years ago, no less 1 156 inscriptions had been recorded for Europan 17. 815 projects were submittedbut alone 158 ideas were awarded pour 49 winners and 52 mentioned. More than 57 special mentions were also awarded.

Interested architects, urban planners, landscapers and European groups under the age of 40 will be able to register for this new edition from Monday March 3, 2025. The deadline for submitting projects is Sunday June 29. The results will be published a little over four months later, on Monday November 10. “For cities, it’s an opportunity, but for these professionals, it’s quite a showcase », enthuse Lison Gleyses and Céline Azéma.

A project to be developed with residents

As for knowing what follow-up the different cities studied could give to this competition of ideas, the mayor of Nailloux explains: “What we would like is for there to be a citizen consultationwith the residents, so that we can present the projects to them and discuss them before choosing the one that could be implemented. Besides, we will not be obliged to do everything. The idea is rather to achieve what is within our means and on our own schedule. »

Note also that participation in this competition a cost for the City: €70,000. “But it offers us a vision, a projection, with something concrete,” concludes Lison Gleyses.

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