Pot-up city (europan17)

POT-UP CITY is an architectural response to Europan 17 – Living City, proposing a masterplan for ‘Microville,’ a self-sufficient future city on the former Air Force Base BA112 near Reims, France. The project envisions a sustainable urban system where production, consumption, housing, and education operate autonomously yet remain organically interconnected. It explores an architectural alternative to the limits of contemporary cities facing climate crises and food insecurity.

Productive Citizens At the core of self-sufficiency lies production—not limited to food but extending to energy and housing. Drawing inspiration from Nikolai Miliutin’s early 20th-century concept of collective living and labor, the city redefines its inhabitants as active participants rather than passive consumers. Through programs such as the Eco-School, residents engage directly in construction and city management, transforming building into a social practice that organizes community.

A Circulating City The second principle is circulation. Like plants that grow, bear fruit, and return to the soil, every process of production and consumption is designed to complete a closed recycling loop. This system, strengthened by residents’ participation, resists urban sprawl and fosters inner diversity and resilience within the city.

Coexisting Heritage Microville is not an isolated enclave. It maintains mutual exchanges of labor and culture with neighboring towns, forming a cooperative network. The site’s ecological recovery during its years of abandonment is regarded as a vital heritage, guiding a strategy that combines adaptive reuse of existing buildings with the preservation of ecological corridors—a city where the built and natural environments coexist in balance.