Living well, building frugaly

What this approach entails: values 1/ Integration rather than juxtaposition Joyful frugality is not the same as dreary austerity. Designing less and better — using usage as our compass — results in homes that are more comfortable, more sustainable and fairer. This workshop aims to build a shared culture amongst stakeholders who share the same areas and the same buildings but do not always speak the same language. 2/ Use as the starting point Too many decisions regarding design, funding and regulation are taken without proper consultation with residents. Design thinking puts lived experience back at the heart of the process — an act of social commitment as much as a methodological approach to performance, and a prerequisite for ensuring that the homes of tomorrow are truly liveable. 3/ Thinking about long-term sustainability and taking effective action now The FSSD provides a framework for collectively anchoring short-term decisions within a sustainable development trajectory — without pitting social urgency, economic prospects and environmental sustainability against one another

This is a working session, not a lecture. Participants are arranged in small, deliberately cross-disciplinary groups — elected officials, architects, urban planners, social housing providers, students, and residents' representatives sitting alongside one another — to bring different perspectives into dialogue and break down professional silos.

9:30 WELCOME 

10:00 INTRODUCTION

Framing the issues, presenting the national context and the methodologies used

 10:30 WORKSHOP

 Small mixed-group work — design thinking & FSSD — co-producing actionable ideas

12:00 REPORTING BACK 

Group presentations, collective debate, identifying common ground

 12:45 CLOSURE

Synthesis, next steps, and networking among participants

 

2 methods in service of collective thinking:

• User-centred design thinking — Before designing, we need to understand: how do people actually use their homes? What do they need? What gets in the way of daily life? This investigative stance — rarely built into conventional design processes — places residents' lived experience at the centre of the conversation and grounds the workshop in concrete realities rather than abstract standards.

• FSSD (Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development) — A scientific, systemic, and participatory framework for embedding sustainability at the core of professional practice. Drawing on a shared vision of a desirable future and a planning method known as "backcasting from sustainability principles", the FSSD helps practitioners identify the full scope of sustainability challenges and avoid developing "false good ideas" — solutions that appear positive today but undermine long-term transformation. It is designed for organisations, local authorities, and professionals leading change and innovation, providing a shared language and a coherent strategic framework for action. (fssd-france.fr)