IMAGO
Basic information
Project Title
IMAGO
Full project title
IMAGO, Experimental Student Housing
Category
Regaining a sense of belonging
Project Description
IMAGO project relies on the design, construction, rehabilitation, and operation of a student housing prototype in Bordeaux, destined to host six students as an extension over a pre-existing housing unit, before future up-scaling. Using a Living Lab framework, the main goals are : Involving the students from various fields in the design process. Improving the living lab through the users’ feedback. Engaging students in sustainable and resilient practices, providing innovative student housing.
Geographical Scope
National
Project Region
France
Urban or rural issues
Mainly urban
Physical or other transformations
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
The IMAGO project emerged from the need to address the shortage of affordable and adapted student housing in Bordeaux. While the demographic growth of the student population signals a growing appeal of the city and the quality of its educational opportunities, it also places a significant strain on the student housing sector. This pressure ultimately compels part of the student population to suffer substandard living conditions.
Beyond the need for a sufficient quantity of good quality housing, there is a necessity to break away from resource-intensive and land-consuming construction habits in favor of more sustainable models. That is how a team of students, researchers, and professionals has taken on the mission of experimenting with alternative ways to design socially and environmentally committed student housing through IMAGO.
At the intersection of these ambitions that place the student at the heart of the education transition, the IMAGO project, with the support of a local program of the University of Bordeaux (Augmented University for Campus and world Transition), is based on the design, construction, and operation of a student housing
prototype, built on top of a pre-existing housing unit, and intended to accommodate six students.
Aside from serving as a hub for a variety of scientific and educational experiments, the IMAGO prototype serves as a research and development model for a project supported by a national program, "Committed to Quality Housing for the Future". With the help of our partners, the team has ambitious plans to expand and scale up the experimental construction system and a range of associated innovations tested within IMAGO in the construction of 150 student housing units on the campus. This initiative serves as a testament to the substantial achievements stemming from the collaborative efforts between the university and the wider community.
Beyond the need for a sufficient quantity of good quality housing, there is a necessity to break away from resource-intensive and land-consuming construction habits in favor of more sustainable models. That is how a team of students, researchers, and professionals has taken on the mission of experimenting with alternative ways to design socially and environmentally committed student housing through IMAGO.
At the intersection of these ambitions that place the student at the heart of the education transition, the IMAGO project, with the support of a local program of the University of Bordeaux (Augmented University for Campus and world Transition), is based on the design, construction, and operation of a student housing
prototype, built on top of a pre-existing housing unit, and intended to accommodate six students.
Aside from serving as a hub for a variety of scientific and educational experiments, the IMAGO prototype serves as a research and development model for a project supported by a national program, "Committed to Quality Housing for the Future". With the help of our partners, the team has ambitious plans to expand and scale up the experimental construction system and a range of associated innovations tested within IMAGO in the construction of 150 student housing units on the campus. This initiative serves as a testament to the substantial achievements stemming from the collaborative efforts between the university and the wider community.
Key objectives for sustainability
At the core of its reflections, IMAGO places environmental resilience, which can only be achieved through a convergence of expertise from both technical and natural, human, and social sciences.
Within the framework of the prototype, three pivotal axes focus on ecological sustainability:
1. Material use and Lifecycle: With the prototype constructed atop an existing structure, the use of a green-wood exoskeleton ensures a lightweight structure, effectively reducing the exhaustive processes typically associated with the material’s industrialization. The incorporation of high-performance wooden envelopes, supplemented by straw insulation and adobe interior partitions sourced from on-campus earth excavation, underscores a deliberate commitment to bio-based and geosourced material use.
2. Energy Strategy: Guided by the idea of energy neutrality throughout the lifespan of the prototype, IMAGO is dedicated to achieving optimal performance outcomes while capitalizing on its integration within an urban network. The use of recycled photovoltaic systems, the deliberate implementation of Lowtech strategies to evaluate both efficiency and user acceptability, and the deployment of a comprehensive heating and cooling strategy, underscored by user engagement and awareness, collectively demonstrate a holistic approach attuned to the evolving needs and practices of prospective occupants.
3. Water Management: Against the backdrop of the escalating significance of water as a precious resource, irrespective of geographical context, the IMAGO prototype has been tailored to optimize the sourcing and use of water resources. This entails the capture of water through the green roof, the purification of greywater and collected rainwater, the strategic reuse of treated water for on-site vegetation irrigation, and the integration of advanced instrumentation and data collection mechanisms to streamline water usage.
Within the framework of the prototype, three pivotal axes focus on ecological sustainability:
1. Material use and Lifecycle: With the prototype constructed atop an existing structure, the use of a green-wood exoskeleton ensures a lightweight structure, effectively reducing the exhaustive processes typically associated with the material’s industrialization. The incorporation of high-performance wooden envelopes, supplemented by straw insulation and adobe interior partitions sourced from on-campus earth excavation, underscores a deliberate commitment to bio-based and geosourced material use.
2. Energy Strategy: Guided by the idea of energy neutrality throughout the lifespan of the prototype, IMAGO is dedicated to achieving optimal performance outcomes while capitalizing on its integration within an urban network. The use of recycled photovoltaic systems, the deliberate implementation of Lowtech strategies to evaluate both efficiency and user acceptability, and the deployment of a comprehensive heating and cooling strategy, underscored by user engagement and awareness, collectively demonstrate a holistic approach attuned to the evolving needs and practices of prospective occupants.
3. Water Management: Against the backdrop of the escalating significance of water as a precious resource, irrespective of geographical context, the IMAGO prototype has been tailored to optimize the sourcing and use of water resources. This entails the capture of water through the green roof, the purification of greywater and collected rainwater, the strategic reuse of treated water for on-site vegetation irrigation, and the integration of advanced instrumentation and data collection mechanisms to streamline water usage.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The architectural concept derives from the use of raw bio- and geosourced materials. In this context, low-processed tree trunks sourced directly from the forest provide structural support for the elevated living platform situated above the pre-existing residence on the site. The raised structure, fortified by its exoskeleton, facilitates efficient densification while concurrently preserving the natural site without resorting to artificial soil manipulation, thereby safeguarding the ecological balance. The integration of climbing plants that ascend along the exoskeleton not only contributes to the creation of a summertime canopy but also fosters solar heat gain during the winter season. The building dynamically adapts its exoskeleton’s outer layer in accordance with the cyclic progression of the seasons. In tandem with this, we are also deeply invested in exploring user experiences and sensations arising from the interaction with bio-based and geo-sourced materials, both of which form an integral part of the architectural contemplation underlying the prototype. By minimizing the artificial transformation of the housing unit, our goal is to evaluate the experiential value for the students and their overall well-being. Concerning spatial configuration and practices, pivotal to our architectural philosophy, a sociological survey conducted among students has yielded critical insights into their cohabitation and appropriation needs. Foremost among these insights is the imperative to break away from the prevailing trend of individualization that characterizes the student accommodations offered within university residences. The recent pandemic episode has underscored the challenges of isolation and solitude, which students have experienced as significantly distressing to their mental health. Drawing upon the configuration of the pre-existing student housing unit, and while retaining the same surface area dedicated to private spaces to encourage social interactions.
Key objectives for inclusion
The architectural concept derives from the use of raw bio- and geosourced materials. In this context, low-processed tree trunks sourced directly from the forest provide structural support for the elevated living platform situated above the pre-existing residence on the site. The raised structure, fortified by its exoskeleton, facilitates efficient densification while concurrently preserving the natural site without resorting to artificial soil manipulation, thereby safeguarding the ecological balance. The integration of climbing plants that ascend along the exoskeleton not only contributes to the creation of a summertime canopy but also fosters solar heat gain during the winter season. The building dynamically adapts its exoskeleton’s outer layer in accordance with the cyclic progression of the seasons. In tandem with this, we are also deeply invested in exploring user experiences and sensations arising from the interaction with bio-based and geo-sourced materials, both of which form an integral part of the architectural contemplation underlying the prototype. By minimizing the artificial transformation of the housing unit, our goal is to evaluate the experiential value for the students and their overall well-being. Concerning spatial configuration and practices, pivotal to our architectural philosophy, a sociological survey conducted among students of the local campus has yielded critical insights into their cohabitation and appropriation needs. Foremost among these insights is the imperative to break away from the prevailing trend of individualization that characterizes the student accommodations offered within university residences. The recent pandemic episode has underscored the challenges of isolation and solitude. Drawing upon the configuration of the pre-existing student housing unit, and while retaining the same surface area dedicated to private spaces to ensure intimacy, we have redesigned the interior configuration into a shared accommodation.
How Citizens benefit
Students, as future users of the solutions developed through this prototype, are at the core of the design process. Their perspectives and feedback directly inform the project's direction, in addition to their scientific contributions and innovations tied to their respective areas of expertise. By integrating them
into the feedback loop once they inhabit the prototype, the IMAGO team will be able to improve and adapt the provided solutions to the real-life nuances of the students' living experiences within the project.
Moreover, considering that the future of our human condition hinges upon individual actions and collective emulation driven by an awareness of the climate and environmental crisis, we aspire to empower students to initiate behavioral change toward more mindful and virtuous practices, minimizing resource consumption and fostering greater respect for our living environment. By working on and inhabiting the IMAGO prototype, we aim to cultivate leading actors of the environmental transition, capable of effecting a shift in our relationship with both the living and the non-living.
Finally, the project aspires to become a federating initiative at local and regional levels to push systemic changes and become a model both for the great public and for the building industry professionals who can use the knowledge and return of experience from our experiments to implement them in their own practices.
into the feedback loop once they inhabit the prototype, the IMAGO team will be able to improve and adapt the provided solutions to the real-life nuances of the students' living experiences within the project.
Moreover, considering that the future of our human condition hinges upon individual actions and collective emulation driven by an awareness of the climate and environmental crisis, we aspire to empower students to initiate behavioral change toward more mindful and virtuous practices, minimizing resource consumption and fostering greater respect for our living environment. By working on and inhabiting the IMAGO prototype, we aim to cultivate leading actors of the environmental transition, capable of effecting a shift in our relationship with both the living and the non-living.
Finally, the project aspires to become a federating initiative at local and regional levels to push systemic changes and become a model both for the great public and for the building industry professionals who can use the knowledge and return of experience from our experiments to implement them in their own practices.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Innovative character
The innovative character of IMAGO is rooted in the Living Lab framework that shapes its directions and its ability to prefigure a real and larger-scale impact on the metropolitan urban landscape. This innovative approach revolves around three main components:
Educational Component:
The uniqueness of the project's approach lies in an active pedagogy, allowing students to learn through projects and hands-on experience. This framework empowers students in their educational journey while grounding it in the reality of the project. By bringing together students from different disciplinary backgrounds, creative emulation fosters opportunities for acculturation among team members, ultimately serving the development of the solutions.
Scientific Component:
Integrating users into the design process is essential for structuring the Living Lab framework, leading to innovations and solutions aligned with real expectations. In our case, students, as end-users, play a central role in the scientific development of the project, bridging the gap between produced knowledge and operational relevance. The prototype is thus the culmination of cross-disciplinary scientific innovation based on field knowledge.
Societal Component:
The IMAGO project, as a unifying prototype in the local university ecosystem with a European reach through the ENLIGHT alliance network, aims to be a rallying project, initiating an opening in the constructive and inhabitable possibilities of its territory. IMAGO's mission is to raise awareness among both the general public and professionals in the building sector, as well as student housing landlords and managers, encouraging a different approach.
Educational Component:
The uniqueness of the project's approach lies in an active pedagogy, allowing students to learn through projects and hands-on experience. This framework empowers students in their educational journey while grounding it in the reality of the project. By bringing together students from different disciplinary backgrounds, creative emulation fosters opportunities for acculturation among team members, ultimately serving the development of the solutions.
Scientific Component:
Integrating users into the design process is essential for structuring the Living Lab framework, leading to innovations and solutions aligned with real expectations. In our case, students, as end-users, play a central role in the scientific development of the project, bridging the gap between produced knowledge and operational relevance. The prototype is thus the culmination of cross-disciplinary scientific innovation based on field knowledge.
Societal Component:
The IMAGO project, as a unifying prototype in the local university ecosystem with a European reach through the ENLIGHT alliance network, aims to be a rallying project, initiating an opening in the constructive and inhabitable possibilities of its territory. IMAGO's mission is to raise awareness among both the general public and professionals in the building sector, as well as student housing landlords and managers, encouraging a different approach.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
The IMAGO project was conceptualized and designed by a multidisciplinary team of students, researchers, and professionals hailing from diverse backgrounds and various schools at the campus of Bordeaux. This collaborative cohort encompasses student-architects, engineers (specializing in fields such as acoustics, civil engineering, thermal engineering, economics, materials engineering, mechanics, environmental engineering, structural engineering, agronomy, and more), sociologists, and more. A sociological study focusing on student living conditions underscored a pressing need to reconsider the design of student housing. The coalition of architects, engineers, and sociologists culminated in a project that was conceived by the users themselves.
Interdisciplinarity extends beyond the team's diverse backgrounds; it also encompasses interactions with external stakeholders. The Living Lab approach inherently involves creating a collaborative multi-party platform, emphasizing robust engagement between the academic world, local and regional communities, and society at large. Partner companies, industries, actors in the social and solidarity economy, as well as public authorities, provide support, guidance, and the sharing of knowledge and skills in various domains. Each partner contributes essential knowledge to better align the project with societal expectations. The meaningful and mutual collaboration enables students to develop a holistic perspective that transcends their academic field.
Interdisciplinarity extends beyond the team's diverse backgrounds; it also encompasses interactions with external stakeholders. The Living Lab approach inherently involves creating a collaborative multi-party platform, emphasizing robust engagement between the academic world, local and regional communities, and society at large. Partner companies, industries, actors in the social and solidarity economy, as well as public authorities, provide support, guidance, and the sharing of knowledge and skills in various domains. Each partner contributes essential knowledge to better align the project with societal expectations. The meaningful and mutual collaboration enables students to develop a holistic perspective that transcends their academic field.
Methodology used
The IMAGO project relies on the participation of students from various academic backgrounds. It is considered a pedagogical innovation as much as a technological and scientific one. The team works tirelessly to integrate the project into existing academic units or to recognize students' participation through credits, internships, and even paid missions for those completing their degrees during the project, ensuring the continuity of their contributions.
The three project phases – design, construction, and operation – immerse students in realistic working conditions, help them acquire a diverse set of expert and soft skills, and encourage them to foster interdisciplinary empathy.
This educational approach has enabled the project to utilize the springboard of internationalization facilitated by a European University Alliance (ENLIGHT) to further explore the dimensions of multidisciplinary and challenge-based learning through an innovative intensive program and blended learning.
The interdisciplinary nature of the team plays a central role in the transformative experience of participating students, extending beyond the technical and innovative expertise inherent in the development of a project like IMAGO. The team configuration challenges stereotypes about collaborative disciplines, fostering empathy among students for their peers and colleagues pursuing different academic paths. Serving as a pivotal link in the construction of the IMAGO project, students are deliberately recruited from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, ensuring a complementary array of skills, an essential quality in developing innovative solutions to address the complexities of student housing issues.
A framework like that of the IMAGO Living Lab provides a foundation for interdisciplinary practices, fostering the conceptual integration of diverse values and knowledge capacities, and dismantling disciplinary hierarchies without sacrificing the unique distinctions that set them apart.
The three project phases – design, construction, and operation – immerse students in realistic working conditions, help them acquire a diverse set of expert and soft skills, and encourage them to foster interdisciplinary empathy.
This educational approach has enabled the project to utilize the springboard of internationalization facilitated by a European University Alliance (ENLIGHT) to further explore the dimensions of multidisciplinary and challenge-based learning through an innovative intensive program and blended learning.
The interdisciplinary nature of the team plays a central role in the transformative experience of participating students, extending beyond the technical and innovative expertise inherent in the development of a project like IMAGO. The team configuration challenges stereotypes about collaborative disciplines, fostering empathy among students for their peers and colleagues pursuing different academic paths. Serving as a pivotal link in the construction of the IMAGO project, students are deliberately recruited from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, ensuring a complementary array of skills, an essential quality in developing innovative solutions to address the complexities of student housing issues.
A framework like that of the IMAGO Living Lab provides a foundation for interdisciplinary practices, fostering the conceptual integration of diverse values and knowledge capacities, and dismantling disciplinary hierarchies without sacrificing the unique distinctions that set them apart.
How stakeholders are engaged
The IMAGO project has been developed at the local level through various channels. Firstly, on the university front, workshops have been coordinated every Thursday afternoon among the University of Bordeaux, the School of Architecture, the Arts et Métier school, the Civil Engineering Department, the Agro Sciences School, and the Institute of Political Science. Over 90 students have actively participated in the project. Furthermore, IMAGO collaborates directly with local partners, focusing not only on technical design but also on material sourcing. On the other hand, the concepts developed for real-scale experimentation are confronted with field feedback from representatives of local authorities and government responsible for student housing development within the metropolitan and regional areas, as well as the definition of public policies shaping it. By integrating the constraints at hand, we find it easier to challenge them and potentially contribute to their refinement and create a shift in public/urban policies, aligning them more closely with the needs of the student population. On a national scale, the IMAGO project serves as the R&D demonstrator for the winning project of the “Committed to the Quality of Housing for Tomorrow” program, based on the development of 150 housing units atop existing residences dating back to the 1970s.
Once the process has been tested and refined, the exoskeleton system enabling the elevation of any building can be studied and applied at the national and subsequently the European level. Notably, the IMAGO project distinguishes itself at the European level, as it has recently become a part of the MetabuildingLab network through the Nobatek Inef4 (an environmental transition institute), serving as a pilot site for research and metadata production. IMAGO also figures among other European projects soon-to-be submitted, led by an international network, as a site pilot to develop more innovation avenues.
Once the process has been tested and refined, the exoskeleton system enabling the elevation of any building can be studied and applied at the national and subsequently the European level. Notably, the IMAGO project distinguishes itself at the European level, as it has recently become a part of the MetabuildingLab network through the Nobatek Inef4 (an environmental transition institute), serving as a pilot site for research and metadata production. IMAGO also figures among other European projects soon-to-be submitted, led by an international network, as a site pilot to develop more innovation avenues.
Global challenges
The IMAGO project emerges within a context of a shift in university policies, advocating for comprehensive transition objectives and aspiring to transform the campus into an experimental site focusing on various environmental and societal themes. While the IMAGO project primarily aligns with the “Resilient Habitat” Living Lab of the university, it delves into the complexity of the challenge of student housing, addressing cross-cutting themes related to the housing of vulnerable populations in general. Access to affordable and dignified housing, the transformation of consumption practices and habits, food production at the habitat scale, biodiversity integration, the fight against social isolation’s effects, and fostering academic, educational, and professional success through improved living conditions all center around placing the inhabitant at the core of the design and construction process. These orientations extend well beyond a housing prototype dedicated to a handful of students. IMAGO endeavors to provide solutions and generate innovative knowledge to tackle these contemporary environmental and societal challenges by bringing together students, educators, researchers, and professionals.
Learning transferred to other parties
The design, construction, and operation of a student housing prototype on the campus are inherently driven by the intention of scaling up industrialization and replication, especially in connection with the development project involving 150 housing units based on the same conceptual principles (building extension, use of bio-based and geosourced materials, optimization of resource management and consumption, etc). In terms of methodology, grounded in scientific innovation and an approach of active pedagogy, IMAGO serves as a unifying project within the framework of the ACT program at the University of Bordeaux. The program aims to proliferate innovative pedagogical approaches within a living lab context, addressing challenges beyond those of resilient housing. The IMAGO team experiments with teaching and learning methods, and disseeminates the findings through various forms of mediation within local and European academic communities.
Keywords
Make the students (end-users) part of the design process to initiate a transition in the campus’ urban landscape
Develop a living and inhabited lab, that evolves with the feedback of its users
Develop a living and inhabited lab, that evolves with the feedback of its users
Encourage a holistic understanding of the student housing crisis by combining all sciences
Engage the students-inhabitants in sustainable and resilient living practices & habits.
