And what if it were 51°C in your city?
The air shimmers. No shade, no breeze. Imagine living there with no roof, no water, no shelter. For some, this is already the present.
For many, it will be tomorrow.
For many, it will be tomorrow.

25 days above 35°C per year in Lyon by 2100
Lyon +4°C = feels like 50°C in dense urban areas. Excess mortality + energy poverty + homelessness. No adequate response in public space at night. Most public water points are closed after dark.
Water:
a fundamental need
Drinking, cooling down, washing,
using the toilet, doing laundry.
using the toilet, doing laundry.
Responding
to variable situations
– Number of people affected
– Level of crisis (temperature, disease, etc.)
– Available technical and human resources
– With or without connection to water and sewage networks
– Water categories: blue, green, grey, black
– Level of crisis (temperature, disease, etc.)
– Available technical and human resources
– With or without connection to water and sewage networks
– Water categories: blue, green, grey, black


Solution:
a modular, universal & robust system
– One module = one clear function
– Can be combined into “small living units”
– Transportable, adaptable, anchorable
– Can be combined into “small living units”
– Transportable, adaptable, anchorable
'nexus'
A steel core module lies at the heart of the system, enabling the connection of all tubular frames that support the main structural elements: walls, floors, ceilings, and shade canopies.




Robust
& durable
materials
Built to withstand time and heavy use.
Difficult to steal or damage.
A sensory experience: soft roughness, filtered shade, solidity.
Difficult to steal or damage.
A sensory experience: soft roughness, filtered shade, solidity.

This project doesn’t solve heatwaves. It creates a place where we resist together — at a human scale.
It speaks of water, of heat, of ordinary gestures. It simply says: we can do better. We can make space. We can make urgency livable.
©2025 ERASME.ORG & DSAA VILLEFONTAINE
