Biography of Sandra Lavorel, researcher
Sandra Lavorel, born in 1965, is a French researcher specializing in functional ecology and ecosystem dynamics. A member of the Academy of Sciences since 2013, she is a pioneer in the analysis of ecosystem services to societies. After studying at the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (AgroParisTech) and earning a PhD in ecology from the University of Montpellier, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Australia. She then joined the CEFE in Montpellier, and later the Alpine Ecology Laboratory (CNRS/Université Grenoble Alpes/Université Savoie Mont Blanc), where she continues her research. A leading figure in her field, Sandra Lavorel was made an Officer of the National Order of Merit in 2016 and an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 2022. Her career is also marked by several remarkable awards. In 2023, she received the CNRS Gold Medal.
We have no chance of solving the current climate crisis if we don’t work closely with people.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
The Maison internationale AgroParisTech is the first student house for engineering students built at the Cité internationale. Since 2007, it has been open to all students enrolled at AgroParisTech.
