A recent architecture graduate has developed a comprehensive plan to elevate the 160 iconic cabins of L'Herbe village on France's Cap Ferret Peninsula as a response to rising sea levels. Manon Drouillard, 22, recently defended her final thesis project at the National School of Architecture and Landscape in Bordeaux, earning high praise from the jury with a score of 17 out of 20 for her innovative approach to coastal adaptation.
Drouillard's project, titled "Adapting the Oyster Villages of the Cap Ferret Peninsula to Rising Waters," addresses one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing the region. The revision of the coastal risk prevention plan for Lège-Cap-Ferret has been stirring debate this year among government officials, elected representatives, and property owners along the peninsula's inner basin facade. Her detailed proposal presents documented, modeled, and calculated solutions for raising the structures in L'Herbe village, the most well-known, inhabited, and visited settlement on this prestigious sand spit.
"I've always questioned the future of waterfront constructions," explained Drouillard, who completed her studies on June 28. "From Royan, where my family has a small house, to the Basin, where we often go for walks." The village of L'Herbe currently contains 460 professional and residential cabins, making it a significant cultural and economic landmark in the region.
Drouillard's academic journey began with extensive research on coastal erosion and adaptation strategies. At the National School of Architecture and Landscape, she first undertook a research thesis titled "Coastal Erosion, Strategic Retreat of Property and People," using Biscarrosse in the Landes department and Lacanau in Gironde as relevant case studies. This comprehensive document, which included interviews with field experts and was defended in January, covered assessment, adaptation, and international examples of coastal management.
To broaden her understanding of resilience in flood-prone areas, Drouillard spent six months abroad through the Erasmus program at the architecture school in Hanoi, Vietnam. There, she studied the human and construction resilience of Mekong Delta inhabitants, while also conducting research in Thailand and Japan. "The trip to the Netherlands with the Bordeaux school was also very instructive," she noted, referring to that country's renowned expertise in water management and flood protection.
Her research revealed that house elevation techniques using hydraulic jacks are fairly widespread in countries like the United States and Australia, providing practical precedents for her proposal. This international perspective informed her approach to developing solutions specifically tailored to the unique challenges and cultural significance of the Cap Ferret Peninsula's oyster villages, combining technical innovation with respect for the area's maritime heritage.
