Carnot Square

Place Carnot is one of Lyon's great public squares — ringed by high-traffic café terraces, crossed by thousands of pedestrians daily, and exposed to both channelled urban drafts and hard southern-French afternoon sun. Public-realm shade here has to be genuinely public-grade: safe, permanent, and indifferent to abuse.

The square is shaded by giant Glatz Palazzo Royal parasols anchored permanently into concrete with heavy-duty ground sleeves, keeping the plaza floor completely free of bases and obstructions. Structural aluminium frames with stainless-steel hardware carry the load year after year, and the patented crank opening means café staff — not technicians — handle daily operation.

For North American municipalities, business improvement districts, and plaza developers, Carnot Square is a working blueprint for activating public space with ultra-durable commercial shade.