An ambitious project to restore the Bièvre, the Seine's only Paris tributary, brought Jacob to Paris from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004. From stream daylighting to housing and economic development, he has worked in various urban design and planning related fields to improve the quality of the built environment. To complement his role as caretaker of a listed modernist house designed by French architect Robert Mallet Stevens, Jacob teaches and conducts research on architectural history and the preservation and revitalisation of built heritage. He regularly opens his home to the public for events and site visits, for more information please see villa-trapenard.fr .