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This paper, resulting from a three-year participatory research (TETHYS for Transition énergétique territoriale hydrogène et société) aims to define the “energy social imaginary” and to question its ways of institution. We will rely on the reflection of Cornelius Castoriadis. Three dimensions Autonomy / heteronomy, Power / frugality and Individualist (mass) / convivial (collective and producing a link) determine these imaginaries. Finally, we will attempt to account for their emergence in the participatory mechanisms implemented with different audiences within the livinglab “Le Dôme” in Caen.

There is a huge demand for new techniques and technologies to tackle life-threatening in fire emergencies. Enclosure fires are a type of emergency involving firefighters whose lives are sometimes put at risk. In any confined fire, the emergency team may encounter two types of combustion environments, ventilated or under-ventilated. The rapidly changing behaviour of this scenario depends on multiple factors such as enclosure size, ventilation, or type and quantity of fuel involved. However, the difficulty of handling this situation coupled with the potential for human error, even if there is undivided attention to the task in hand, remains an unresolved challenge for firefighters today. New technologies based in Thermal Imaging Cameras can help firefighters to prevent this situation. Fire Science Living Lab is presented as a solution to test new technologies for this area. This papers shows a resume about the process to develop a prediction system in a living lab for one of the most dangerous situation for firefighters, flashover.

A key challenge of the 21st century is to transform society into one that features sustainable patterns of production and consumption. To achieve this, transition processes need to be designed in key areas such as housing, mobility and nutrition. The design and large-scale implementation of sustainable product service systems (PSS) is regarded a promising approach for sustainability transitions. Real-life socio-technical experiments are an important infrastructure for designing PSS in collaboration with stakeholders and users. In this paper, we argue that transdisciplinary and action research methods are required for institutionalising an experimental set-up and developing PSS within such infrastructures. We present the Sustainable LivingLabs (SLL) research infrastructure and its methodology as an example of such experimental settings. It was collaboratively developed with key stakeholders in three consecutive research projects and applied to e.g. heating and space heating. We show new qualities of SLL in relation to existing LivingLabs and approaches for PSS design and present its methodological three-phase model (insight research, prototyping, field testing) of research. Our article contributes to knowledge on a methodological framework and tool-kit for PSS development in SLL with a clear focus on socio-ecological sustainability. Intermediate findings confirm the high influence of user practices on heating energy consumption and show starting points for PSS development: e.g. transformational products, home-automation combined with consulting along value chains. We hypothesise that developing PSS in user- and stakeholder-integrated settings supports acceptance and diffusion and, by taking into account users' social practices of utilising novelties, reduces rebound effects caused by incorrect application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]