Alongside its ongoing projects, Roofscapes completed in the spring of 2024 a pilot project in the heart of Paris, on the roof of the former town hall of the 4th arrondissement, now home to the Académie du Climat. This prototype, developed as part of an R&D procurement contract supported by the City of Paris' Department of Ecological Transition and Climate, aims to measure the impact of Roofscapes’ climate adaptation projects in real-life conditions.

The platform, built from French pine and larch by carpenters and roofers from MEHA Construction Bois, supports a vegetation palette combining local and Mediterranean species that were planted by landscaper Topager. The substrate comes from soil excavated for infrastructure projects in the Greater Paris and reclaimed by Faiseurs de Terre. To ensure the utmost water-economy, plants are irrigated by capillary action using rainwater retention tanks located beneath planted surfaces, enabling them to remain self-sufficient in water for several weeks during heatwaves.

The project's experimental protocol aims to quantify changes in surface and indoor temperatures using thermal sensors, to measure water retention and water consumption, and to study the development of biodiversity using fauna-flora inventories. Initial temperature readings already indicate a temperature reduction of 10°C under the zinc when shaded by the platform, which would be excellent news in the efforts to adapt cities to climate change.