Plateau Urbain is a cooperative dedicated to social housing and transitional and temporary urban planning that provides affordable workspaces and, where possible, emergency housing solutions in vibrant, creative, and community-oriented third places with a social mission, in the Île-de-France region and in several major cities (Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille). It also provides consulting and support services throughout France.
In 2012, Simon Laisney, then a real estate analyst, was struck by the scale of the vacant office phenomenon in the Île-de-France region: up to 3.5 million square meters of unoccupied space, equivalent to about thirty Montparnasse Towers. Faced with this reality, he brought together stakeholders from urban planning, architecture, and real estate to envision new uses for these unused spaces.
In 2013, this collective effort gave rise to the association Plateau Urbain. The goal was clear: to build bridges between the real estate sector and the worlds of artists, organizations, and innovators, in order to transform vacant spaces into venues for experimentation and creativity.
That same year, the first temporary occupation took shape with the Boutique des Frissons, set up in the ground floor of a Parisian building. This initial project laid the groundwork for an approach that would become Plateau Urbain’s signature: activating vacant spaces to support social, cultural, and community-driven projects.
In 2015, Plateau Urbain reached a major milestone with Les Grands Voisins, a large-scale temporary occupation project set up in the former Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Hospital in Paris, carried out in partnership with Aurore and Yes We Camp. This iconic site became an urban laboratory combining social housing, artist studios, community organizations, and cultural activities.
This period also marked growing recognition: Plateau Urbain received the “Entreprendre autrement” award from the Île-de-France Region in 2015, and was honored in the “Palmarès des Jeunes Urbanistes” in 2016. The cooperative also launched its digital platform for calls for applications, facilitating access to spaces for project leaders.
In 2017, the organization reached a milestone by becoming a Société Coopérative d’Intérêt Collectif (SCIC). This change in status reflects a commitment to sharing governance among the various stakeholders and to embedding the project sustainably within a cooperative framework.
Starting in 2018, Plateau Urbain began its national expansion. New projects emerged in Lyon, with the launch of the “U” project, and then in Antony with the PADAF space. Transitional urban planning became a tool for temporarily transforming vacant buildings into spaces for work, creativity, and social innovation.
In 2019, the cooperative participated in the opening of Coco Velten in Marseille, an iconic project combining social housing with economic and cultural activities. That same year, Plateau Urbain expanded its expertise by supporting local governments, notably through a project management assistance mission for the Lyon Metropolis.
In 2020, the cooperative continued to innovate with the creation of Base Commune, a social-impact real estate entity developed with Le Sens de la Ville, aimed at securing spaces for community-oriented uses. This year also marked the closure of Les Grands Voisins, following several years of experimentation that profoundly shaped transitional urbanism in France.
In 2021, Plateau Urbain developed Commune Mesure, a tool designed to analyze the social, economic, and territorial impact of temporary occupation projects. This tool helps to better understand and highlight the effects of transitional urbanism on cities and their residents.
The year 2022 marks a major turning point: the cooperative transitions into an SCIC SA, opening membership to occupants and strengthening its democratic model. A significant fundraising effort also enables it to expand its capacity for action, particularly to support large-scale projects such as Césure, a third place located on a former university campus in Paris.
In 2023, Plateau Urbain celebrates its 10th anniversary. This year also sees the opening of new spaces such as Lac C in Bordeaux and Les Arches Citoyennes in Paris, continuing the mission to transform vacant buildings into open, creative, and community-oriented spaces.
Starting in 2024, the cooperative continued to expand with new openings, notably BOB in Villeurbanne and Les Gens Jaurès in Paris, while continuing to adapt its projects to the rhythm of urban cycles. This year was also marked by the cooperative’s receipt of the Paris Social and Solidarity Economy Award, recognizing the social impact of its model.
In 2025, Plateau Urbain opens several new spaces, including Elmer and La Roche in Paris, as well as Dédale and Magma in Val-de-Marne. At the same time, some projects come to an end, illustrating the temporary and evolving nature of these urban occupations.
For over a decade, Plateau Urbain has thus pursued its goal: to reveal the potential of vacant spaces and enable social, cultural, and economic initiatives to take root there, helping to create cities that are more inclusive, open, and experimental.
The Plateau Urbain cooperative has a three-tier governance structure:
The general meeting is composed of all members. Its primary roles include approving the annual activity report and the cooperative’s financial statements, setting its general policy, amending its bylaws, and admitting new members.
The supervisory board is the cooperative’s governing body. It consists of 12 members, elected by the general assembly and representing various categories of members: residents, experts, employees, partners, and financial supporters.
The Executive Board is the cooperative’s governing body. It is responsible for implementing the decisions of the General Assembly and the recommendations of the Supervisory Board. The Executive Board consists of three members: Simon Laisney, Angèle de Lamberterie, and Mathias Rouet.
There are currently five membership categories, which come together at the General Meetings.
EMPLOYEES
weighted vote
EXPERTS
weighted vote
PARTNERS
weighted vote
FINANCIAL AID
weighted vote
RESIDENTS
weighted vote
Plateau Urbain is a cooperative dedicated to transitional urban planning. This approach involves temporarily occupying vacant urban spaces in order to test them and explore their potential future uses. It aims to revitalize these areas, make them more attractive, and foster community-led initiatives, while providing affordable office space to those who need it.
«
For Aquitanis, temporary occupancy represents an additional offering in the management of hybrid spaces that benefits the Bordeaux metropolitan area. It also serves to develop and promote new capabilities within the organization: increased collaboration with emerging project leaders, as well as greater creativity and user involvement in project management. Involvement in the SCIC Plateau Urbain helps anchor this partnership for the long term and contributes to fostering experiences in temporary and transitional occupancy.
Adrien Gros
Director of Urban Planning at Aquitanis, member of the Plateau Urbain cooperative – 2021
A pioneer in transitional urban planning, Plateau Urbain is a particularly innovative national organization that has demonstrated the effectiveness of its model for the temporary revitalization of commercial spaces. It fosters new social and cultural initiatives and enhances the appeal of the neighborhoods where it operates, including those designated as priority areas under urban policy. Banque des Territoires supports this initiative, which benefits the regional ecosystem—and local governments in particular—by fostering more inclusive and sustainable communities. Plateau Urbain primarily hosts social and solidarity economy (SSE) organizations, a sector that Banque des Territoires supports through a variety of financing tools.
Christophe Genter
Director of the Department of Social and Territorial Cohesion at the Banque des Territoires
For the Caracol team, SCIC Plateau Urbain is a collaborative network of diverse and complementary stakeholders. A space and time for possibilities and encounters that fosters synergies and conveys messages about new ways of “building a city.” When Plateau Urbain invited us to join the SCIC, it was a natural choice—professionally, personally, and philosophically.
This commitment is further embodied in the concrete manifestation of our complementary strengths: the Village Reille. A true laboratory of “working together.”
Elisa Desque
Development Manager at the Caracol Association – 2020
From the very beginning of the project, Agence Intercalaire wanted to join Plateau Urbain. We share this aspiration to create living and working spaces that emphasize sharing—of spaces, tools, and skills—and the active involvement of the people who use these spaces. We also share the need and desire to help create experimental frameworks that address the challenges of construction.
Pascale Dubois
Executive Director of Agence Intercalaire, member of the Plateau Urbain cooperative – 2020
“Bringing together people in extremely vulnerable situations, organizations from the cultural, artistic, and social sectors, as well as the general public, in a single location—as we did at Les Grands Voisins— Les Cinq Toits, Maison Marceau, and La PADAF demonstrate that not only is this possible, but that it also makes sense to replicate these models—not identically, since each project has its own unique character, but by recreating the conditions conducive to inclusivity, diversity, solidarity, and experimentation. Numerous initiatives, such as the community concierge service or the barter shop, have emerged and helped people achieve a degree of autonomy thanks to the economic activity generated on-site.”
Wiliam Dufourcq
Program Director at the Aurore Association – 2020
more than 59 temporary leases,
with rents per square meter averaging between 30% and 70% below market rates.
more than 2,500 organizations that lack the financial means to access the conventional real estate market, housed in more than
278,000 m².
more than 2,000 people in precarious situations who have received emergency shelter at about ten mixed-use sites co-managed with community organizations
In the interest of transparency, we are posting as many documents as possible online to help you understand the cooperative and share knowledge about new approaches to the line: activity reports, surveys, informational brochures, press releases, and more. Feel free to browse or download them!
