[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ inner_shadow=”off” _builder_version=”4.19.2″ background_enable_image=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.19.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”0px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Article, part 1″ _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font=”Montserrat||||||||” text_font_size=”15px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The central square of the Sch\u00f6nberg neighborhood, in Fribourg, is a textbook example of an urban heat island. It is mostly made of concrete and stone, with little shade, greenery or water in sight. In August, the team led by S\u00e9r\u00e9na Vanbutsele<\/a> measured the temperature on some surfaces of the square. At the height of the heat wave, one reading showed a surface reaching more than 70\u00b0C.<\/p>\n \u2018It is a busy square\u2019 mentions S\u00e9r\u00e9na, pointing to the afterschool building on one side and the childcare on the other. \u2018But locals just pass through, they never stay here.\u2019 The high temperatures and lack of adequate infrastructure are to blame. Microclimate simulations by ETH colleagues led by Ayta\u00e7 Kubilay<\/a> and Jan Carmeliet<\/a> confirmed what S\u00e9r\u00e9na already suspected: the square is one of the hottest areas in the city. Without intervention, it will become unlivable as heatwaves become more frequent and intense in the future.<\/p>\n As part of the activities of SWICE WP5<\/a>, S\u00e9r\u00e9na\u2019s team collaborated with REPER<\/a>, the association working on social and cultural activities with local inhabitants. They set up the Living Lab Sch\u00f6nberg<\/a> (also known as Projet O\u2019Frais<\/em>), that aims to build temporary installations to cool down the square, while also increasing its appeal and fostering social bonds. During two weeks in August, Projet O\u2019Frais <\/em>gathered local children, teenagers and mothers to work on this goal.<\/p>\n Led by Agn\u00e8s Collaud<\/a>, the team came up with a vision for turning the square into a cool archipelago, an inviting place where heat doesn\u2019t need to be unpleasant. The intergenerational team started by painting an island on the concrete ground, using bright light-yellow paint. Next, the team designed and built a temporary terrace to provide shade and a place to sit down for locals. The structure allows for younger children to test their climbing skills. The team also painted an exterior wall of a central elevator shaft in white, with the goal of painting a light-colored mural on top of it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ inner_shadow=”off” _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250819_145835-scaled.jpg” title_text=”IMG_20250819_145835″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250819_151854-scaled.jpg” title_text=”IMG_20250819_151854″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250819_144230-scaled.jpg” title_text=”IMG_20250819_144230″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ inner_shadow=”off” _builder_version=”4.19.2″ background_enable_image=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.19.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”0px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Article, part 2″ _builder_version=”4.27.5″ text_font=”Montserrat||||||||” text_font_size=”15px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u2018The techniques we use are well-known\u2019 says S\u00e9r\u00e9na. \u2018Light-colored paint, shading, vegetation, and water features.\u2019 She points to the large shading tarp that a local woman is stitching together, made from an old hot air balloon. A large part of the work is being carried out by locals. S\u00e9r\u00e9na hopes that this active participation can lead to empowerment. Some of the teenagers involved in the project were struggling to find an apprenticeship. The project\u2019s main partners, REPER and the TRANSFORM Institute<\/a> of HEIA-FR<\/a>, ensured that these teenagers would be able to leverage this experience on their CVs.<\/p>\n On the other side of the square, two cameras have been set up by the team, to assess the impact of the project. They count the number of users of the square and the time each of them spends in it, a way of measuring the improvement in quality of this public space. The city of Fribourg has shown interest in the process. Three of its representatives are discussing how to replicate this experience elsewhere in Fribourg.<\/p>\n Next year, Projet O\u2019Frais <\/em>will try to improve the installations by adding vegetation and a water feature, and extending the project to other parts of the neighborhood. The team also hopes to convince the city and private owners to start a discussion on improving the quality of outdoor spaces in Sch\u00f6nberg. Everyone agrees that the project should evolve and adapt according to feedback and needs from the local community. And when the heatwave hits in the summer of 2026, everyone is hoping that the archipelago of Sch\u00f6nberg stays as cool as possible.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The central square of the Sch\u00f6nberg neighborhood, in Fribourg, is a textbook example of an urban heat island. It is mostly made of concrete and stone, with little shade, greenery or water in sight. In August, the team led by S\u00e9r\u00e9na Vanbutsele measured the temperature on some surfaces of the square. At the height of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-schoenberg","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250819_145835-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31789"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32592,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31789\/revisions\/32592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sweet-swice.ch\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}