Urban Utopias and the Construction Industry: The Eiffage Group’s “Phosphore” Project

The “Phosphore” project, rolled out by the construction conglomerate Eiffage, provides a good example of the principle of broadening the range of actors involved in urban innovation. Without claiming to offer a blueprint for society, Phosphore nonetheless goes far beyond the ordinary industrial or urban project. It verges on a utopian approach both in its incorporation of the main themes of contemporary utopias –the limit on resources, personal fulfilment, sharing and mobility– and its methods of horizontal management. Valérie David has been running this experimental project since 2007. Here she affords unprecedented insight into the workings of utopian thought in a major construction company.