The gathering of architecture accelerators

Du 19.05.2026
au 20.05.2026
Tables rondes
Speed dating
Ateliers

For its third edition, the Échelle Un Festival is taking place at Les Récollets in Paris’s 10th arrondissement, curated by the architectural practice Belval & Parquet Architectes.

Join us on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May 2026 for two days packed with round-table discussions, project presentations by young agencies, workshops and project management/ project owners, providing opportunities for discussion and networking between young agencies, institutions and industry professionals. An open programme, entirely free of charge, to be discovered at ici (registration details opposite).

Taking action: putting the transition into practice

In 2026, Échelle Un will celebrate its tenth anniversary. This decade has seen the emergence of a national ecosystem of incubators supporting a new generation of architectural entrepreneurs. Today, this generation represents a force, diverse in its practices, working daily to imagine new ways of operating. Step by step, it is thus developing theoretical and design-based responses to the new climate regime, across various scales and territories, with a strong sense of commitment. The proposal Agir, la transition en pratiques (Acting: the transition in practice), led by Belval & Parquet Architectes, aims to unite this force and make this 3rd edition of the festival a demonstration of the new generation’s capacity for collective action, despite the uncertainty of a world in transition.

Why Agir?

• to respond through architecture to the challenges of a world in transition. Faced with uncertainty, the architect is a facilitator, an explorer. Using the project as a working methodology, they act by engaging with the complexity of situations;
• to undertake renewed professional practices, in harmony with the societal and political issues within which they operate;
• to pool initiatives and experiences across diverse fields of action, creating an alternative narrative of the world to come: resilient, equitable, sustainable.

Adapt, Hybridise, Unite

The programme devised by Belval & Parquet Architectes for the 2026 festival will be structured around a curatorial triptych:
• Adapt: addressing the challenges of construction and transformation by exploring practices that adapt rather than demolish, and which prioritise maintenance, resource efficiency and care for resources;
• Hybridise: exploring new practices and their diversity, and demonstrating how architects, landscape architects, designers, craftspeople, etc., combine their knowledge, experience and ethics to create collective meaning;
• Bring together: stimulate public debate and networking, and explore the controversies and debates that drive these practices.

Programme

Tuesday 19 May 2026

9.00am – 10.00am

Opening
Welcome coffee, remarks from the curators and sponsors

10.00am – 11.15am

Round table: Repairing the Ordinary
The climate imperative demands a radical shift away from demolition: the act of building now takes a back seat to the art of repair. The stock of post-war buildings places architecture in an era of maintenance and care for what already exists. Yet the large-scale renovation currently underway is mostly taking place without architects, even though it is substantially altering the built landscape. Entering the field of regeneration, where projects seem to be reduced to mere compliance with standards, is becoming a necessity and the new frontier of our discipline. By taking on these so-called minor commissions, the architect demonstrates their ability to transform the ordinary through a tectonics of frugality. This round table explores how architects can reclaim this subject to redraw the contours of a profession that guarantees the permanence of the built environment and the quality of living.
*with
Deborah Feldman, architect, 127af, SANA 2023, AJAP 2025
Grichka Martinetti, architect, atelier png, AJAP 2014
Luca de Franceschi, Director of Architecture and Sustainable Development, Immobilière 3F
Charles Arquin, Associate Director, Pouget Consultants
Fabienne Roquier-Chavannes, Head of the UDAP in Seine-Saint-Denis
moderator: Anastasia de Villepin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui

11.30am – 12.15pm

Project spotlight

· Revival of a Marne Pavilion, 2026
by Fabricaré (Christophe Beraldin, Jorge Torres Martinez), Échelle Un 2025

· Conversion of the Île aux Moines lighthouse into a science centre, 2025–26
by atelier Kraken (Florent Guiziou, Jeanne Le Pors), Banc d’essai(s) 2025

· Les Carreaux Fleuris residential complex, 2023–26
by rerum architectes (Claire Roy, Adélie Collard), Échelle Un 2021

11.30am – 12.15pm

· AI Workshop: what tools for architecture firms?
by Houcine Menacer, founder and CEO of WinSide

12.30pm – 2.00pm

Lunch, Networking

2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

Round table: The architect as investigator
Architecture is establishing itself as a discipline of exploration. In the early stages of a project, the architect takes on the role of investigator to uncover the city’s hidden treasures: land potential, material resources or new programmatic themes. This exploratory approach transforms research into a project methodology where available resources now dictate form. Through experimentation and action research, the architect reveals the potential of the blind spots within environments and anticipates the future needs of the urban and rural fabric. This round table examines how, from calls for innovative projects to radical reuse, investigation becomes the driving force behind a renewed commitment. By approaching commissions through exploration, the architect redefines their social utility and their capacity to shape the city differently.
*with
Hélène Reinhard, architect, SOL Architecture & Urbanisme
Julie Pommier, architect, Augure Studio, Échelle Un 2023
Alexandre Born, co-founder and managing director, Bellevilles
Margot Holvoet, secretary general, Institut de la Transition Foncière
Héloïse Dubois, deputy director, Grand Paris Habitat
moderator: Margaux Darrieus, architecture critic

15:15–16:00

Project spotlight

· Transformation of a modern brownfield site, 2024–2025
by HYPER (Lucas Meliani), Adélaïde (Helena Hiriart, Grégoire Deberdt), Degré (Camille de Gaulmyn, Boris Fillon), Échelle Un 2024

· Manual of the Place, 2025–2026
by atelier apara (Charlotte Guillochon, Victor Mesguich), Banc d’essai(s) 2025, FAIRE 2025 

· Tiers Lieu Pyrénéen, 2025
by BERENICE CURT ARCHITECTURE (Bérénice Curt, Caroline Duncan), Échelle Un 2019

15:15–16:00

· Insurance Workshop: supporting innovative practices
by Sarah Litran, Head of Legal Support and Monitoring, MAF

· Workshop: Insulating with hempcrete
by Matthias Lauff, Wall’Up Préfa

16:15–17:00

Round Table: Contextual Practices
Architecture is breaking free from the confines of mere design to become a multifaceted discipline. Today, architects are exploring new fields of action and blending their skills: taking on the roles of carpenter, developer, sociologist, photographer or designer in turn. This round table highlights a generation that is taking the initiative and wearing many hats to have a direct impact on reality, beyond the traditional commission. By stepping outside the conventional framework of the practice, architects are reinventing their economic and social model through experimentation and hands-on practice. These context-specific practices now constitute alternative strategies for profoundly transforming our environments. The project stems from this ability to navigate between scales and disciplines, making multidisciplinary engagement the new driving force behind an architecture of action.
*with Nissim Haguenauer, architect, Plan Común
Simon Givelet, architect, co-founder of Saisons Zéro and ZERM, AJAP 2025
Tim Cousin, architect, co-founder of Roofscapes
Laetitia Pieri, Head of Operations, Foncière de la Ville de Paris
Marion Verdiere, architect and urban planner, Architecture Commune, AJAP 2025
moderator: Emmanuelle Borne, journalist and curator

6.00 pm – 8.00 pm

Speed Dating MOE-MOA
with the participation of partner project owners: Aire Nouvelle (Equans), BNP Paribas REIM, CDC Habitat, Demathieu Bard Immobilier, Diderot Real Estate, FSM - Les Foyers de Seine-et-Marne, Grand Paris Aménagement, Haarpon, Immobilière 3F, La Poste Immobilier, Linkcity, Paris City Hall Centre, Marne-au-Bois SPL, OGIC, Paris Sud Aménagement, Plaine Commune, Plateau Urbain, RATP, Redman, Régie Immobilière de la Ville de Paris (RIVP), Société des Grands Projets, Soletdev

8.30pm – 11.00pm
Evening event, networking, DJ set with Elona Prime

Bookshop
featuring: Building Books, Éditions de la Villette, d'a - le magazine, Exercice + GANG magazine (Antoine Séguin and Jérémie Dru), Éditions du Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Caryatide, Éditions Europan, Marnes documents d’architecture

Wednesday 20 May 2026

9.30am – 10.00am
Welcome

10.00am – 11.00am

Round table: Narratives of uncertainty
In the face of instability, uncertainty is no longer a hindrance but the driving force behind architectural narrative. Where immediate solutions seem elusive, thethe architect moves beyond the immediate to become a cartographer of possible futures, in the long term. Through action research and prospective studies, in the spirit of the thinking behind Europan or forward-looking regional initiatives, the project establishes itself as a powerful narrative tool. The aim is to chart viable paths and give shape to concrete alternatives where traditional models fall short. This round table explores architecture’s capacity to forge these new collective imaginaries, which are essential for informing planning decisions and providing a compass for our changing environments
*with
Guénaëlle Humbert, architect, HU·MA studio, Échelle Un 2026
Mathieu Lucas, landscape architect, SLM, AJAP 2025
Marion Waller, Executive Director, Pavillon de l’Arsenal
Daniel Andersch, Director, Europan
Paul Jarquin, founder, REI Habitat
moderator: Annabelle Hagmann, founder of AHA

11.15am – 12.00pm

Project spotlight

· Porocité, 2025
by Atelier Berger Milà (Gemma Milà, Corentin Berger), Échelle Un 2019, Conforts 2025

· Comfort is a good place to die, not to live in, 2025
by cdlt (Théophile Chatelais, Alexis de La Taille), SANA 2025 and E-AR (Radia Cheddadi, Hadrien Krief, Ana Miscu), SANA 2026, Conforts 2025

· The City of Connections, 2025
by patio b (Blanca Aguilar Alejandre, Benoît Soulié), Échelle Un 2026, Conforts 2025

11.15am – 12.00pm

· Entrepreneurship Booster Camp Workshop
by Pauline Wolfrom, Director of Réseau Entreprendre® Paris, co-facilitated by Belval & Parquet Architectes, 2025 winner

· Workshop: Law as a lever for transition: Adapt, Hybridise, Unite
by Baptiste Gibert, partner, Michel Huet & Associés

12.30pm – 2.00pm

Lunch, Networking

2.00pm – 3.00pm

Round Table: Taking Action in Local Areas
Architects are moving beyond the confines of the practice to play a central role in public policy and urban planning issues. This round table explores the strategic role of the practitioner as a key player in local areas, from CAUE (Architectural and Urban Planning Councils) to consultancy architecture assignments. This commitment goes beyond simply responding to a brief to become a proactive force capable of supporting elected representatives through the transition. By fostering synergy between political vision and spatial expertise, the architect establishes themselves as the indispensable mediator in urban and rural development. Occupying this position at the very heart of decision-making enables territorial constraints to be transformed into project drivers. This alliance between ‘doing’ and ‘deciding’ shapes a profession committed to serving the public interest and the resilience of communities.
*with
Olivier Bouvais, architect, Conversio architectures, Échelle Un 2026
Charles Hesters and Pierre Martin-Saint-Etienne, architects, HEMAA Architectes, Échelle Un 2019, winner of the Équerre d’Argent 2025 First Work Award
Stéphan Dégeorges, director, CAUE de Haute-Savoie
Julien Bargeton, President, Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine
Arnaud Brunet, architect, Mayor of Pomponne (77)
moderator: Mathieu Delorme, Director of Ensa Paris-Est

15:15–16:00

Project Spotlight

· Bouchées doubles, 2024
by Atlas.t (Cécile Foucreau, Marie Ghiringhelli, Yasmine Hrimeche), Échelle Un 2025

· Development of a brownfield site, in progress
by hort (Amélie Maignan, Jean-Baptiste Péron), Scale One 2026

· Construction of a sheepfold using reused materials, 2025 
by phéno architectes (Marianne Gondoux, Grégoire Lafarge, Olivier Mori), Échelle Un 2025

3.15pm–4.00pm

· Workshop: Building with solid stone
by Simon Henin, Sales Manager, Carrières de Noyant

4.15pm–5.30pm

Round table: Working together
Ten years after the emergence of Échelle Un, the young architectural scene is no longer a collection of individuals but a cohesive force. To exert a lasting influence in the public arena, this energy must now be organised into a genuine political and professional movement. Bringing agencies together means transforming isolated initiatives into a collective voice capable of influencing the framework of commissions and public policy. This concluding round table explores the levers of solidarity and the new forms of collaboration essential for speaking with one voice in the face of crises. By standing united, architecture asserts itself as a sovereign force for action, ready to engage in future debates. Acting together becomes the ultimate prerequisite for redefining our public utility and ensuring the resilience of our professions.
*with
Sophie Thollot, architect, director of CAUE 92
Alexandre Labasse, managing director, APUR
Etienne Barre, architectural engineer, Barre Bouchetard architecture, Échelle Un 2019, sponsor of Banc d'Essai(s)
Hélène Fernandez, Director, Deputy Director-General for Heritage and Architecture at the Ministry of Culture, responsible for architecture, Ministry of Culture
Suleïma Ben Achour (Studio Classico), Camille Hours (Camille Hours Architecte), Théophile Chatelais (CDLT), SANA+ association
Gaël Sellier, Bancaù Architectes, AJAP 2023, Points Communs 2026
Pauline Rime, Amarée Architectes, La Fruitière 2025
moderated by: Belval & Parquet Architectes

6.00pm – 7.00pm
Closing event

Bookshop
featuring: Building Books, Éditions de la Villette, d'a - le magazine, Exercice + GANG (Antoine Séguin and Jérémie Dru), Éditions du Pavillon de l'Arsenal, Caryatide, Éditions Europan, Marnes documents d’architecture

Curated by Belval & Parquet Architectes
Charlotte Belval and Pierre Parquet graduated from Ensa Paris-Est in 2011. Since founding their Paris-based practice Belval & Parquet Architectes in 2017, they have been exploring the concept of the commons through their projects and research. As members of the 2018 cohort of the Echelle Un incubator, they were winners of the FAIRE innovation accelerator in 2019 with their proposal ‘Immeubles à partager’. In 2023, they launched the BelPar platform, facilitating dialogue among stakeholders in urban development. In 2024, they were awarded the Albums des Jeunes Architectes et Paysagistes by the Ministry of Culture. In 2025, they received the APEX prize for the Maison des Médias Libres project and were winners of the Réseau Entreprendre Paris award. Charlotte Belval is an associate lecturer at ENSA Paris-La Villette, where she co-directs the Resources Master’s programme. Pierre Parquet is a consultant architect for the city of Annecy.

The gathering of architecture accelerators
The Échelle Un Festival, which takes its name from the incubator founded by ENSA Paris-Est in 2016, aims to give a voice to the entire new and emerging scene of French architecture. Following Poush in 2024 and Césure in 2025, this third edition is once again part of a collective effort to highlight the ecosystem of architecture accelerators, including the ENSA incubators:
• Échelle Un (ENSA Paris-Est)
• Sana (ENSA Clermont-Ferrand)
• Banc d’essai(s) (ENSA Paris-la Villette)
• La Fruitière (ENSA Normandy)
• Points Communs IMVT (ENSA Marseille)
Or springboard initiatives such as FAIRE at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal or the Confort 2050 ideas competition organised by 3F immobilière in partnership with ENSA Versailles, LéaV and the TEC XX Specialised Master’s programme.