Reinventing Centrality: From Industrial Heritage to a Modular Cultural Hub
Published on
24/11/2025
About this challenge
France
Challenge description
The municipality of Hauts-de-Bienne, a small mountain town historically shaped by the eyewear industry, is confronted with a major urban revitalization challenge. Following decades of industrial decline, the city must now redefine its identity, reactivate its town center, and adapt its public facilities to contemporary needs.
At the heart of this challenge lies the transformation of two emblematic but outdated or abandoned sites:
The Lamartine Hall, a former 1950s community venue deeply anchored in local memory but no longer suited to today’s cultural, sports, and associative needs.
The EDF brownfield site, a large, centrally located industrial complex currently unused but offering significant potential for redevelopment.
The challenge consists of reimagining these spaces as a coherent urban system, capable of hosting a modular, multifunctional facility that integrates culture, sports, youth activities, and community life. This involves finding a balance between:
- Preserving and enhancing heritage
- Promoting sustainable and energy-efficient architecture
- Revitalizing the town center and supporting tourism
- Meeting local demand for modern, flexible, and inclusive public spaces
- Strengthening social cohesion and community identity
At the same time, Hauts-de-Bienne seeks European references and cooperation to draw on successful examples from other small and medium-sized cities that have carried out similar transformations. The challenge is therefore both urban and strategic, involving long-term planning, cultural and economic development, and innovative governance.
At the heart of this challenge lies the transformation of two emblematic but outdated or abandoned sites:
The Lamartine Hall, a former 1950s community venue deeply anchored in local memory but no longer suited to today’s cultural, sports, and associative needs.
The EDF brownfield site, a large, centrally located industrial complex currently unused but offering significant potential for redevelopment.
The challenge consists of reimagining these spaces as a coherent urban system, capable of hosting a modular, multifunctional facility that integrates culture, sports, youth activities, and community life. This involves finding a balance between:
- Preserving and enhancing heritage
- Promoting sustainable and energy-efficient architecture
- Revitalizing the town center and supporting tourism
- Meeting local demand for modern, flexible, and inclusive public spaces
- Strengthening social cohesion and community identity
At the same time, Hauts-de-Bienne seeks European references and cooperation to draw on successful examples from other small and medium-sized cities that have carried out similar transformations. The challenge is therefore both urban and strategic, involving long-term planning, cultural and economic development, and innovative governance.
This city is looking for
The municipality of Hauts-de-Bienne would benefit from several key areas of expertise to successfully transform the Lamartine Hall and the EDF brownfield into a coherent, sustainable, and multifunctional urban hub. First, the city needs strong know-how in redeveloping industrial and public heritage sites, ensuring that emblematic buildings are preserved while adapted to modern cultural, sports, and community uses.
Expertise in designing modular, flexible, and energy-efficient facilities is essential to create spaces that can accommodate diverse activities and technical requirements. The city would also gain from support in integrated urban planning, particularly from territories that have revitalized their town centers by connecting multiple strategic sites within a long-term vision.
Additionally, guidance on innovative governance and shared management models—involving public, associative, or hybrid partnerships—would help ensure the operational sustainability of the future facility. Finally, Hauts-de-Bienne would benefit from experience in community engagement, inclusive cultural and sports programming, and financial engineering to secure funding and involve residents throughout the project life cycle.
Expertise in designing modular, flexible, and energy-efficient facilities is essential to create spaces that can accommodate diverse activities and technical requirements. The city would also gain from support in integrated urban planning, particularly from territories that have revitalized their town centers by connecting multiple strategic sites within a long-term vision.
Additionally, guidance on innovative governance and shared management models—involving public, associative, or hybrid partnerships—would help ensure the operational sustainability of the future facility. Finally, Hauts-de-Bienne would benefit from experience in community engagement, inclusive cultural and sports programming, and financial engineering to secure funding and involve residents throughout the project life cycle.
City size
Towns (< 50,000 inhabitants)
Author
Emre Yildiz
France
Project Manager
Hauts de Bienne
