Françoise-Hélène
Jourda was recognised early in France for combining, since
the beginning,
her search for architectural beauty with a sensitivity to
the new fundamentals of the post-industrial age. As a pioneer
of sustainability, she focused on the economic usage of materials
and energy, new approaches to lifestyle and work procedures,
and the development of towns and cities.
As a result of her work as a professor and architect in Germany
and Austria, F.H. Jourda has become a central figure in the
debate regarding sustainability in Europe. She maintains
the idea of architectural research, open to new technologies,
social trends and what is at stake on an urban level. For
her, being an architect is not just about creating, but also
developing. For this reason she believes an architect is
a prime figure of citizen with whom rests a high duty. For
this reason she believes architects are burdened with increased
responsibilities as citizens.
Her activism led her to found Eocité this year. Eocité is
a sustainability advisory board specialising in initiating
collaboration between construction companies, local parliament
members, and citizens alike in the lead-up to the undertaking
of any urban development. This represents a strategic position,
what may even be labelled a new profession, that architects
must make their own to ensure their active and continued
contribution to the historic changes that are currently taking
place.
