Youenn Gourain

Postdoctoral researcher on the LESLIE project led by Valérie November, focusing on long-term storage infrastructure.

The research project ‘Urban and Architectural Dimensions of Very Long-Term Storage Infrastructure’ examines the emergence and stabilisation of very long-term storage infrastructure within its geographical context, focusing on the storage of museum artefacts, carbon sequestration, digital archives, nuclear waste and seeds. The research tracks the practices of a variety of actors (architects, urban planners, engineers, technicians) insofar as these practices enable the establishment and operation of, or put to the test, storage infrastructure.

Interdisciplinary in nature, this research draws on a dialogue between urban studies, geography, and the sociology of science and technology. The urban planning and architectural dimension examines the technical mechanisms (laws, plans, land tenure, zoning, building materials, etc.) involved in these negotiations. The qualitative study is based on a comparison of several long-term storage infrastructures, drawing on semi-structured interviews, site visits, photography and urban drawings.