SWICE WORK PACKAGE 5
This research project focuses on the relationship between the design of open urban spaces and outdoor well-being during heatwaves. It is part of the SWICE research consortium, "Sustainable Well-being for the Individual and the Collectivity in the Energy Transition."
The SWICE research project began in 2022 with funding from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) and explores new sustainable models to support the energy transition in Switzerland. The project includes eight work packages (WPs), each addressing specific themes. WP5 focuses on urban outdoor spaces, their social importance, their impact on urban microclimates, and their relationship with energy demand. The SWICE WP5 project is based on the hypothesis that urban heat not only increases health risks but also raises energy consumption in summer. Strategies to mitigate the urban heat island effect are often costly and time-consuming to implement. In response, SWICE WP5 tests the potential of small-scale, temporary interventions to address heatwaves more rapidly.
Within this framework, HEIA-FR has developed the urban living lab "O’Frais au Schönberg", which aims to test temporary spatial interventions to improve the quality of outdoor spaces during heatwaves, in close collaboration with local residents. Limited in both space and duration, the living lab is based on an experimental process structured in four phases: co-design, implementation, evaluation, and adaptation.
In an urban context increasingly affected by intensifying heatwaves, making public spaces welcoming, inclusive, and resilient is a fundamental challenge. The central square, located in the heart of the Schönberg district in Fribourg, enclosed, highly mineralized, and particularly affected by the urban heat island, represents a relevant site for research and action, both for its potential for improvement and its immediate proximity to the socio-cultural center managed by REPER, which serves as a gateway to the neighborhood’s population. Moreover, the square is a key transit point and a daily living space for hundreds of children.
Community work project
During the summer of 2025, the SWICE-WP5 research team from HEIA-Fribourg, in close collaboration with the local association REPER, carried out a participatory construction aimed at implementing cooling measures in the Schönberg Centre square while improving the well-being of its users. The approach adopted is based on active discussion with target groups, conducting a detailed analysis of the site, and experimentation. Temporary, co-produced, and adaptable interventions can thus sustainably improve daily well-being and strengthen the local social fabric.
A second participatory construction will take place in summer 2026, from June 22 to July 3.
Survey and results
A survey was launched in 2023 to better understand the influence of heatwaves on the use of urban outdoor spaces. The results have been visualized on the interactive map of Fribourg and the interactive map for Geneva.
