From July 3 to 10, 2011, the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds, listed as World Heritage Site for its "watchmaking urban planning” hosted an international workshop under the theme City-Nature-Industry. The workshop gathered students and professors from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the École Spéciale d’Architecture de Paris, the Faculté d’architecture La Cambre Horta de l’Université libre de Bruxelles, and the Faculty of Environmental Design of the University of Montreal.

Part of the regional project "La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2030," the workshop sought to encourage a reflection on the city's urban future based on different territorial issues:

• Integrating industries and transport;
• Enhancing heritage and landscape value;
• Developing public spaces and city entrances.

The workshop asked participants to identify territorial issues and formulate visions of the future in order to develop feasible projects. This work was subsequently presented to the General Council, the media, and the public. The proposals and discussions that took place post-workshop were referenced in a participatory process on the territorial project, which was held in the fall of 2011.

Among the dozen participants from 4 academic institutions from 4 countries (Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Canada), 3 applications were selected following a call launched in April 2011 to all graduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Environmental Design.

Pedagogical Team

• Philippe Poullaouec-Gonidec
  Professor Emeritus École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage / Associate Researcher UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape (CUPUM) / Membre fondateur UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape (CUPUM) / Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM)
• Patrick Neirinck
  Université libre de Bruxelles
• Reza Azard
  Professor École spéciale d’architecture de Paris
• Patrick Marmen
  Chargée de cours École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage / Chargé de formation pratique École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage / Research Agent Chair of Landscape and Environment (CPEUM)

Direction pédagogique

• Monique Ruzicka-Rossier
  Professor École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
• Prisca Faure
  École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Participants

• Annie Breton
  Student School of Architecture
• Brigitte Lavallée
  Student Institut d’urbanisme
• Élisabeth Critchley-Caron
  Student School of Architecture

• Attractivité et développement
• Design urbain
• Infrastructure et transport
• Patrimoine matériel/immatériel
• Préservation et mise en valeur des paysages
• Villes inclusives
• Éducation au développement durable