APPLIED RESEARCH · UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA · 2026
Un Quartier
à Vivre
Towards inclusive and sustainable
urban design
Connecting knowledge, uses and design to approach the neighbourhood as a whole.
FRAMEWORK
Applied CAS project
in Sustainable Development
LOCATION
Geneva, Switzerland
Neighbourhood scale
ROLE
Author and project
lead
CONTRIBUTION
Research · Methodology
Design · Editorial direction
Intent
Methodology
The eight layers
Guide + Sheets
Next steps
01 - INTENT
Designing from
everyday life.
Knowledge, standards and lived experiences are extensive, yet often remain fragmented. I designed this project to bring them together in a shared methodology from the earliest planning decisions.
The challenge: connecting accessibility, inclusion, sustainability and quality of use without imposing a single neighbourhood model.
Visual synthesis developed from the project’s actual plan. The atmosphere, detailed vegetation and uses are an editorial interpretation.
02 - METHODOLOGY
Observe, listen,
then connect.
The research brings together ten public spaces in Geneva, accompanied visits, individual observations and exchanges with users and professionals.
01
Understand the site
Routes, obstacles, atmospheres and uses.
01
Connect knowledge
Literature, standards and lived experience.
01
Structure a methodology
Translate findings into design criteria.
Visualisation of the observation methodology at Parc Geisendorf, developed from a real photograph and cartographic reference of the site.
3 - ONE SYSTEM, EIGHT LAYERS
One neighbourhood.
Eight complementary perspectives.
A shared theoretical base plan makes it possible to
compare the neighbourhood’s dimensions and understand their interactions. Universal accessibility runs through every layer.
04 - THE GUIDE + SHEETS SYSTEM
From understanding the neighbourhood to design decisions.
A modular framework for organising references,
criteria and verification tools.
The guide
The shared framework: understand the
challenges and connect the neighbourhood’s dimensions.
The sheets
A structure for moving from objectives to criteria, references and the checklist.
The case
A proposed physical system for organising, consulting and transporting the materials.
05 - A DEVELOPED EXAMPLE
INCL 01 — L’inclusionrendue opérationnelle.
Inclusion and universal accessibility
This sheet brings together objectives, design criteria, points requiring attention, references and verification elements within a single structure.
It shows how to make a design intention legible, open to discussion and verifiable.
06 - A COLLECTIVE PROCESS
Bringing different forms
of expertise into dialogue.
The proposed model combines users’ experience, the interdisciplinary team’s expertise and the responsibilities of institutions.
Experts by experience
Express needs and provide insight into uses.
The interdisciplinary team
Design together and address intersecting constraints.
Institutions and partners
Provide a framework, test and organise its development.
07 - NEXT STEPS
A structured methodology.
The next step: testing.
What the research has developed
A shared methodological framework, eight thematic layers, the
Guide + Sheets structure and one developed example sheet:
INCL 01.
What now needs to be tested
A pilot project, workshop testing, the progressive development of
the remaining sheets and evaluation of uses before potential
institutional integration.