PNR des Grands Causses

Scope of activities: technical development and manufacturing.

The Grands Causses Regional Nature Park, located in Aveyron, is the third largest in France. Certain municipalities in the Park were inscribed in 2011 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "cultural landscapes of Mediterranean agro-pastoralism".

To highlight this territory and its richness, both in terms of heritage and nature, the Park wished to renew its interpretation tools. This approach is part of a process of cultural development in co-production with local actors. The project is to equip various places (villages, hiking trails, picnic areas, etc.) with mediation panels, route signage and orientation table. Empreinte has developed a tailor-made range of desks, totems, tables, bins for historic walls and directional bollards.
The Grands Causses Park wanted durable furniture that required a minimum of maintenance, that integrated into the landscape - both in the natural environment and in the heart of the village. This is why the Empreinte range, in enamelled lava and corten steel, adopts clean, organically inspired shapes (hollowed out totems and desks with bending, for example).

The choice of materials is particularly suited to exterior signage: enamelled lava is extremely resistant to contrasting climatic conditions, and corten steel, exposed to the elements, acquires a patina that reinforces it over time. From an aesthetic point of view, enameled lava allows for vibrant colors, and the rich rust hue developed by Corten steel blends in well with nature or in a stone village. In addition, these materials have an environmental dimension that is particularly suited to a natural park.

This project is developing over time, as new municipalities join the program. By now, over 100 objects have been installed - and more to follow!

Client
Grands Causses Regional Natural Park

Technical characteristics
enamelled lava and corten steel

Site characteristics
Protected natural site, partly listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site