Lecture by Frédéric Denise & Pierre Bouysset

"LE HANGAR ZÉRO is a Le Havre-based space—a "third place," a place of social utility, an "infinite place," and a place of experimentation—whose subtitle is "Citizen Laboratory for Ecological and Social Transformations." Its goals are clear: Zero Waste, Zero Carbon, Zero Left Behind, Zero Harm to Biodiversity.

Housed in a former 19th-century port warehouse that once stored coffee and cocoa, the project has been developing nearly 3,000 m² since 2016 through self-construction and with minimal environmental impact, thanks to the voluntary commitment of several hundred citizens. This part of the city—a covered street open to working-class and port neighborhoods—has organized itself into a cooperative group (SCIC) and a self-managed association, founded on principles of deep democracy.

Hangar Zéro hosts social, cultural, and productive experiments aimed at pioneering viable and desirable models that operate within planetary boundaries. Its most emblematic initiative focuses on construction: it helps reintroduce the reuse of materials as a prevailing practice, turning the construction site into a full-scale demonstration project and a catalyst for transforming an entire industry. This momentum has since fostered the emergence of other collaborative initiatives, particularly in the textile sector, but also in areas such as local food systems, the fight against waste, the unconditional welcome of all people, cultural programming, as well as monitoring and innovation regarding ecological and social issues.

The project arose from an observation made during COP21 in 2015: given the lack of binding commitments from nations, it was urgent to take action immediately. The goal was to provide Le Havre with a space where citizens, organizations, businesses, artisans, farmers, and other institutions could come together to raise awareness of and experiment with strategies for systemic change. Ambitious, vibrant, and fragile all at once, Hangar Zéro now extends its influence far beyond its own grounds."

Hangar Zéro Website

Pierre Bouysset, architect and urban planner, co-founder of Hangar Zéro.
As both a private-practice architect in Le Havre and an architect and urban planner advising elected officials in the Hauts-de-France region on transition policies, he approaches the issues of architecture and the city from a social and political perspective, viewing his discipline as the art of forging connections: social relationships, relationships with living things, relationships with the world, and so on. It is particularly from this perspective that his role in the Hangar Zéro project took shape.

Frédéric Denise, architect, co-founder, and lead architect of Hangar Zéro
After 25 years in private practice, Frédéric Denise founded Archipel Zéro. More collaborative, inclusive, and above all, reflective of a shift in our architectural approach. Already convinced of the value of promoting eco-materials and bioclimatic architecture, the new firm marks our desire to focus our practice even more in this direction.