Thursday, December 18, 2025 From 1:00 PM To 2:00 PM Add to Calendar 2025-12-18 13:00:00 2025-12-18 14:00:00 After the Fire: The Redesign of the Surroundings of Notre-Dame de Paris with Bas Smets Part 3 of our Before and After series looks to the future of Notre-Dame’s surroundings. In 2022, the City of Paris chose Bas Smets and his team to redesign the public spaces around the cathedral. He will present plans for the forecourt, underground areas, the Jean XXIII garden, and the riverbanks—an ambitious project designed to create a cooler microclimate. French Library, 53 Marlborough Street, Boston, MA America/New_York
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Bas Smets received master’s degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from the University of Leuven and in Landscape from the University of Geneva. In 2007, he founded Bureau Bas Smets in Brussels, whose designs explore new ways to transform the city into an urban ecology, capable of producing cooling microclimates to counter climate change. In addition to his design work, Bas Smets has taught at various schools of architecture in Europe. In 2023, he was appointed Professor in Practice at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
Upcoming Events
We invite parents and children to gather in the children's room of our library for a magical story time in French!
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Join us at the French Library for a conversation on The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola. We invite you to read the book in its entirety and meet us on April 21st, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
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Seeking opportunities to speak French? Join us for our popular members-only conversation gathering.
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