How were coastal towns protected from wind and storms?
The storms that hit the Breton coasts provide an opportunity to study how coastal towns have traditionally protected themselves from violent winds.
Historians have shown that cities built along the coasts before the modern period turned their backs on the sea and the ocean.
The city of Dieppe, for example, was initially designed to be protected from westerly winds.
On a plan from 1777, we can clearly see that the islets built along the beach take the form of long elongated bars which clearly have the function of windbreaks (image).
Only a few narrow streets provide the connection between the heart of the city and the seafront.
Many of these streets perpendicular to the beach are often built in chicanes or open onto a building, so as not to channel the wind into the city center.
The current plan of Dieppe still retains this characteristic urban morphology.
Bioclimatic urban planning also means knowing how to protect cities from violent winds and the damage they generate.
Designing with climate is not just about thermal comfort.
Sources: A. Corbin, G. Escourrou
Image: C. Gaillard, from remparts-de-normandie-eklablog.com
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