Project 12
LE SILENCE
DES ARBRES
44290 GUÉMÉNÉ-PENFAO
LOIRE-ATLANTIQUE
The nursery is a 30-hectare enclosure consisting of large forest plots, a few greenhouses, and two buildings built in 1969. The first houses workshops, garages, a small reception area, and offices; the second stores equipment and goods. The architecture, two large volumes covered by an imposing slate roof that descends to the ground, is dated. But its concrete structure is preserved to be raised.
The new program includes a school, which is not an educational institution per se, but a place to welcome students and researchers in residence, from schools, universities, and scientific institutions from around the world. The surface area needs to be almost tripled. In the end, there will be eight classrooms, two small amphitheaters, and a large auditorium. But also a boarding school with rooms, bathrooms, and common spaces for work, dining, and leisure. The articulation between fundamental research and application in the field will be done within a research laboratory located at the heart of this new complex.
In forestry, one of the keys to successful transformation lies in diversity. This new building should foster research partnerships and facilitate exchanges between people from all backgrounds.
The new program includes a school, which is not an educational institution per se, but a place to welcome students and researchers in residence, from schools, universities, and scientific institutions from around the world. The surface area needs to be almost tripled. In the end, there will be eight classrooms, two small amphitheaters, and a large auditorium. But also a boarding school with rooms, bathrooms, and common spaces for work, dining, and leisure. The articulation between fundamental research and application in the field will be done within a research laboratory located at the heart of this new complex.
In forestry, one of the keys to successful transformation lies in diversity. This new building should foster research partnerships and facilitate exchanges between people from all backgrounds.
When listing the professions necessary for the smooth operation of this forest nursery, an establishment of the National Forestry Office (ONF), one imagines the workforce of a large regional enterprise. Lumberjack, technician, mechanic, HR manager, biologist, handler, administrative director, artisan, draftsman, teacher, salesperson, construction machinery operator, pruner, delivery person, farmer, lecturer... an incredible mosaic of expertise. But in reality, it is quite different, and only ten people work on the 30 hectares of forest and the 2000m2 of greenhouses.
Mrs. U. and Mr. G. have been co-directors for over twenty years. They share a vast office that has never been redecorated since the departure of the first director who piloted the creation of the nursery in 1969. But while the orange carpet and built-in ashtrays reflect that era, Mrs. U. and Mr. G.'s agendas are electronic, resembling those of a regional elected official. They joke that about ten years ago, it took them more than a week to realize that the internet line had been cut, as this tool did not exist in their daily lives. Yesterday, nobody was interested in their issues; today, they find themselves at the center of the climate question. Their phones ring constantly, and their numerous requests invite them to spend more time traveling, visiting research organizations or schools and universities to discuss the project they have been working on for years.
This project is an ambitious program seeking answers to an unstable and rapidly changing climate. The changes induced by this global disruption are installing a much faster pace than that of forests. This is why France, through the ONF, has taken on the task of facilitating transitions manually, in order to organize an assisted and accelerated migration of species. It is a fascinating but obviously lengthy work that requires exploration and research. Reading the origins of seeds and young plants is a botanical journey. Persian oak, Japanese black pine, Siberian elm, Colorado blue spruce, Atlas cedar... So much diversity to accumulate knowledge and slow down the alteration of natural forest regeneration. By studying and testing these species, the nursery aims to identify and detect candidates with high potential in order to better prepare French and European forests for climate change.
This complex work requires constant exchanges with fundamental research conducted by the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) network of the ONF; or the INRAE but also some biology schools and European and North American universities. These are all people who need to be accommodated on-site for periods of several days or weeks, which the existing facilities do not allow. The challenge is twofold: to requalify the current infrastructure dating back to 1970 and to respond to these new programs to create a research center on the scale of environmental challenges.
Mrs. U. and Mr. G. have been co-directors for over twenty years. They share a vast office that has never been redecorated since the departure of the first director who piloted the creation of the nursery in 1969. But while the orange carpet and built-in ashtrays reflect that era, Mrs. U. and Mr. G.'s agendas are electronic, resembling those of a regional elected official. They joke that about ten years ago, it took them more than a week to realize that the internet line had been cut, as this tool did not exist in their daily lives. Yesterday, nobody was interested in their issues; today, they find themselves at the center of the climate question. Their phones ring constantly, and their numerous requests invite them to spend more time traveling, visiting research organizations or schools and universities to discuss the project they have been working on for years.
This project is an ambitious program seeking answers to an unstable and rapidly changing climate. The changes induced by this global disruption are installing a much faster pace than that of forests. This is why France, through the ONF, has taken on the task of facilitating transitions manually, in order to organize an assisted and accelerated migration of species. It is a fascinating but obviously lengthy work that requires exploration and research. Reading the origins of seeds and young plants is a botanical journey. Persian oak, Japanese black pine, Siberian elm, Colorado blue spruce, Atlas cedar... So much diversity to accumulate knowledge and slow down the alteration of natural forest regeneration. By studying and testing these species, the nursery aims to identify and detect candidates with high potential in order to better prepare French and European forests for climate change.
This complex work requires constant exchanges with fundamental research conducted by the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) network of the ONF; or the INRAE but also some biology schools and European and North American universities. These are all people who need to be accommodated on-site for periods of several days or weeks, which the existing facilities do not allow. The challenge is twofold: to requalify the current infrastructure dating back to 1970 and to respond to these new programs to create a research center on the scale of environmental challenges.
Coming soon.
Pépinière forestière
Laboratoire
Hangar, Ateliers
École
Début : 2ème
trimestre 2023
Chantier : NC
Livraison : NC
Budget : NC
Surface : 6 500m2
Réhabilitation Construction neuve Démolitions partielles
Fondation pieux béton
Pile et poutre en béton préfabriqué
Charpente métal bois
Couverture ardoise
Inventaire des matériaux : NC
Laboratoire
Hangar, Ateliers
École
Début : 2ème
trimestre 2023
Chantier : NC
Livraison : NC
Budget : NC
Surface : 6 500m2
Réhabilitation Construction neuve Démolitions partielles
Fondation pieux béton
Pile et poutre en béton préfabriqué
Charpente métal bois
Couverture ardoise
Inventaire des matériaux : NC
