On 1st July 2026, the partners of the EPURE project – Estimation oPérationnelle des solutions d’adaptation à la sURchauffe urbainE (Operational Estimation of Adaptation Solutions to Urban Overheating) – met at TIPEE’s offices in La Rochelle for the project’s third steering committee meeting. This meeting, organised on the eve of TIPEE’s 10th anniversary, provided an opportunity to review technical progress and prepare the next stages of this inter-technical centre project supported by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region.
Partners fully committed
Alongside the teams from CRITT Horticole and TIPEE, several industrial and technical partners were present to discuss the progress of the project’s various initiatives. SOPREMA, represented by Rémi Perrin; UNIKALO; VEGETEK, with Marine Da Silva (via videoconference); and the subcontractor Alterlab, represented by Mélanie Faugouin (via videoconference), took part in the discussions.
This diversity of stakeholders underscores the consortium’s strength and the complementary nature of the expertise drawn upon to develop a reliable methodology for evaluating solutions to urban heat island effects.
First feedback from the field and the work gaining importance
One of the key highlights of this steering committee meeting was the initial feedback from the local authorities of La Rochelle, Niort and Rochefort, following the questionnaire circulated as part of the project. These discussions provide a better understanding of how issues relating to urban heat island effects are currently being incorporated into planning documents and urban development projects. In particular, the responses highlight a growing awareness amongst local authorities, whilst also emphasising the difficulties involved in translating this into practical action within town planning documents and urban development projects.
The partners also continued their discussions on a key scientific challenge of the project: incorporating trees and their growth into simulation models. The way trees develop over time is, in fact, a crucial factor in assessing the long-term effectiveness of greening solutions in the face of heatwaves.
Trials are now under way
The steering committee also provided an opportunity to take stock of the experimental work.
The green roof scale models have now been installed beneath the CRITT Horticole experimental greenhouse, where they are being monitored using instruments. These trials will provide valuable data on the thermal behaviour of the various green roof solutions, which will feed into the models developed as part of the EPURE project.
Another important milestone: the project website is now live. Available at EPURE-NA.fr, it brings together information about the project as well as its first deliverables.
A trend that is continuing
In order to maintain close coordination between the two technical centres, monthly meetings will continue to be held over the coming months.
The next steering committee meeting is already scheduled for the end of 2026. It will provide an opportunity to present the initial results of the pilot studies, to continue developing methodologies and to consolidate the decision-support tools which will, in the long term, constitute one of the main outcomes of the EPURE project for local authorities, planners and professionals in the field of sustainable cities.