Franges pionnières

2013
Our project seeks to re-open the site to its territory while preserving the unique features of Montpertuis and Palazol. The site’s occupation begins and is organised from the fringes. From 2015, the project implementation process establishes a geometry, paths and allocations that outline specific places that will flourish and gain density over time.
The proposal combines:
- a considered spatial composition based on the site’s assets and constraints;
- spatial and functional conditions that both enable the installation of new economic activities and create a multiplicity of ambiences;
- a permanent location that welcomes users into a constantly evolving and lively landscape.
Each step has an objective and is self-sufficient. The final step completes a long-term vision without restricting the inherent value of those before.

2013-2026...
8 years after the competition, Vichy communauté - via its economic development department - launched a restricted consultation with the three Europan 12 prize-winning teams, aimed at producing a guide plan for the Montpertuis-Palazol site, based on the competition area. This industrial site - which had been closed for ten years - had been used to manufacture munitions for the army since 1937. GIAT Industries, which owned the site, took charge of the site's depollution which took place over a period of 8 years before transferring it to the local authority,t hus giving the green light to its transformation.
The subject resonates with the last three themes of the Europan competition, The adaptable city (E12/13) (adaptation of a former industrial site to accommodate new uses and activities), Productive city (E14) (production of renewable energy and other so-called productive activities), Living cities (E16) (ecological and landscape issues, natural environments and plant heritage).
The community's commitment to this plan-guide approach reflects the desire to explore different hypotheses and to evaluate possible strategies, without preconceived ideas. Thus, no specific programme was defined in advance.
The "Franges Pionnières" project team was finally chosen as the winner of the call for tenders in October 2021. The first production is entitled " Current situation and issues ". The team decided to work "in chamber" by creating a committee of about fifteen local actors whose skills combine different themes related to the future of the site, such as the circular economy, energy, education and tourism.
The guide plan has been finalised on July 2023. It sets out the ambitions of the project, which are to re-establish an industrial activity that creates value-added employment, while also creating a model site in terms of development, protection, and renaturation of natural milieus. In other words, a productive activity within an environmental approach. It is proposed to transform the site into a campus where industry, innovation and training would be brought together within a single site and to organize this campus around common spaces.
In 2024, Vichy Communauté launched a new restricted call for tenders among the three prize-winning Europan 12 teams for an urban and landscaping project management contract. The team from the "Franges Pionnières" project (LALU) won the contract.