Offered for the first time this year, this program uses built heritage in the small Parisian suburban town of Sceaux as a pedagogical tool and laboratory to explore the challenges facing the fields of architecture and planning in France.
WHERE: Program based in the town of Sceaux, 20 minutes from central Paris via public transportation (RER B). Excursions throughout Greater Paris.
WHEN: 2 or 3 week program to take place after spring university term. Program launch June 2025 (16 June -4 July depending on enrollment)
Apply by June 1. Details below.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES - JUNE 2025
Provide theoretical foundations on historic preservation in France
Provide hands-on, immersive instruction to help students to focus on a career path
Emphasize the importance of French context while mobilizing an international community of professionals and academics
Provide networking opportunities through local actors
Offer workshops to develop skill sets for built environment-related fields
TARGETED PROFILES FOR INSTRUCTION IN ENGLISH
International students currently studying in France, with interest in prolonging their stay to focus on a built environment-related course
Individuals pursuing graduate degrees in architecture, historic preservation, planning, real estate
COURSE THEMES
Understanding the perspectives of numerous property market actors
Examining authenticity in historic monuments
Differentiating conservation and restoration, renovation and adaptive reuse
Analyzing the qualities of existing forms versus architectural heritage
Evaluating the importance of carbon footprint and energy efficiency over preservation
SCHEDULE FOR 2 OR 3 WEEK PROGRAM
Monday through Friday, two 4-hour sessions per day.
Morning session in Sceaux for seminars on heritage preservation case studies
Afternoon session in the field to visit noteworthy sites of restoration and adaptive reuse
Optional third week for individual projects/ research (with instructor supervision)
STUDENT TAKE-AWAYS
Knowledge of local context (historical, sociological, political, morphological, etc.)
Visual observation and analysis skills: drawing, modelling, photography
Research skills: library and archival resources
Communication skills: interviewing and networking with local professionals,
presenting workshop production to jury, portfolio preparation
Orientation for further academic and professional experience in France and abroad
INSTRUCTORS/ GUEST SPEAKERS
Local architects and planners involved in heritage preservation
University professors in related fields
Elected officials/ municipal planners
Non-profit organizations with roles in funding and advocacy
Local property owners
STUDENT COST
• Tuition to primarily cover instructor guest lecturer fees
• 2,000 - 3,000 € depending on 2 or 3 week participation
• Optional homestay program in Sceaux (chez l’habitant)
FINANCIAL AID: One full-scholarship is available for a program assistant.
TO APPLY: Applications to be submitted online before June 1st,
or until cohort of 10 students is formed.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Jacob Simpson holds degrees in architecture (B.A. New York University, 2001) and city planning (MCP, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004; PhD, University College London, 2021).
Since moving to France from the United States in 2004, Jacob has been working in the Paris metropolitan region in real estate and economic development, at the interface between public authorities and private investors. His experience advising foreign companies in their location decisions fueled his doctoral research on how different property market actors shape and define the quality of the built environment.
A long-time advocate for the preservation of architectural heritage, Jacob’s attention focuses on understanding the actors and industries investing in buildings recognized as “monuments historiques” by the French State. His latest publication for The Routledge Companion to Creativity and the Built Environment uses qualitative analysis to look at how a specific set of groups and individuals - frequently referred to in academic literature as "the creative industries" - invest in and associate with specific urban qualities in the Paris region.
Jacob has taught on various subjects from territorial marketing and planning policy to architectural and urban history at Sorbonne Université, l’Ecole d’urbanisme de Paris, l’Institut Français de la Mode and several American universities in Paris.
Through this career discovery program, Jacob puts forth his role as caretaker of the Villa Trapenard to share the area’s restoration challenges internationally while involving the local community.
