Crafting open workshops in public forests to jointly transform prunings into vernacular products.
In the mature forest, a clearing is made to set up a public station. In order to explore the lost uses of trees, barks, branches, fruits and leaves of the autumn pruning are processed into colors, fibers and flours. Those local semi-products prove that the rich and diverse forest can be exploited in a reasoned way.
Local
France
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Forest gardens are gaining ground across Europe, bringing together people from different backgrounds to transform public or private spaces into forest ecosystems.
Starting from an initial research on plant-based materials during her master of industrial design at Ensci Les Ateliers, Anna Luz Pueyo designed a public facility, a forest working station, created to bring out the potential of any kind of forested environment. First envisioned for the public food forest of Cahors, it can also be installed in communal woods with the support of municipalities.
This open design, built with local materials and little construction knowledge, will set ground in a forest glade, allowing the transformation of pruned branches into consumable products such as colors, flours and plant fibers. Such a public infrastructure, composed of three transformation stations fuelled with sustainable energy (firewood, rainwater and human force) is inspired by open places of social activity from the past such as communal mills or bread ovens.
Constructing such a working station on forest grounds will enable collective experimentation around the prunings of a managed forest, welcoming all local users of the forest to make use of its resources at all times. It becomes a pedagogical space that can support local citizens of all backgrounds and generations to work with forest resources. Through an open program of on-site transformation workshops, we collectively research new materials and make products derived from the trees’ pruning, exploring new applications.
This initiative is fuelled by the strong will to challenge the binary relationship we have with forests in Europe, with the intensive wood production on one side and the contemplative protected environment on the other. The glade proposes to experiment with interactions that are respectful of the trees’ life cycles, using pruning as an example of that, making openings for sustainable production chains in connection with nature.
circularity
forestry
vernacular knowledge
transformation
new production circuits
Mature forests are self-sustained ecosystems, with countless advantages for the climate and biodiversity. Indeed, they provide shelter for animal species, a living soil full of microorganisms, clean air, water drainage, regulation of temperatures, absorption of sounds and CO2 and a stable ground thanks to the network of roots. Those ecosystems are in danger today, threatened by deforestation fuelled by an “all or nothing” mentality: huge patches of forests are wiped out for the means of the industry, be it for paper, wood or monoculture fields. Instead of erasing the forest environment for production, La clairière intends to integrate production inside the fragile ecosystem of a forest. The public facility of La clairière is built on a slab made of a mix of lime cement, local sand, soil and pigments, a breathable material that has far less environmental impact than concrete. The different modules are built out of second hand clay bricks, covered with a similar lime plaster mix, made locally by an artisan depending on the materials available on site. The station is a clearing in a forest, directly repurposing the pruned wood from the space as a building element. There are a few metal parts riveted together, making them easy to be recycled or replaced.
Once the station is built and ready to be used, it requires no external energy sources or processing power, since everything is processed through manual labor, rainwater and a woodfire stove.
Pruning wood is a good way to keep the saps of the trees close to their trunks in cold months. Cut branches and small harvests of fruits and nuts are the main material inputs for the activities of the glade, apart from second hand materials (e.g. textiles for dyeing workshops). The materials produced in La clairière can be returned to the ground after their life cycle, contributing to the living soil of the forest, closing the cycles between production and consumption through designing products that can become waste for compost.
Making people work with natural materials reinforces their connection with nature, and the understanding of how they can domesticate it in a regenerative way. Exploring vernacular knowledge on forgotten crafts will therefore change the perception of the forest, as an organism to work with rather than to look at. Transforming forest materials can help citizens be actors of the full production chain of what they consume, with feelings of pride and satisfaction rising through the process. Moreover, it provides surprising sensory experiences: unforeseen smells and colors emerge, textures appear and tastes are discovered, on a background soundtrack of birdsong.
The design of the station makes it a sensory place in itself: connection with the elements of fire and water are at the heart of the processes and interactions with forest materials such as mashing, peeling, scrubbing, soaking can almost be meditative. Manual labor becomes an aesthetic experience, where the forest is an actor. The tree is a provider but also a taker when materials are returned back to the ground, establishing a new relationship with humans. Inter-human relationships are also enhanced by the collaborative aspect of those processes.
The clear space defined by the lime slab is a way to domesticate the forest, which can be an overwhelming environment sometimes. The round space provides comfortable pathways for participants and the warm edges and shapes are satisfying for the eyes and easy to clean.
This space provides a sense of comfort and harmony, contrasting with the wild around. The lime mix made with local materials of the site means that the glade can also visually merge with the forest colors, making the aesthetic vary with the landscape. Depending on the cultural background of the context, one can choose to leave the bricks raw or to tile the plaster with local ceramics, mosaic or wood. Building this space is a collaborative process, taking into account notions of cultural identity.
La clairière is meant to be built in a public forest, which makes it accessible for all. The open structure of the station allows for anyone who is interested and has time to get involved. The construction principle, based on simple columns of standard bricks, makes the building of the station accessible to participants without much know-how. This moment is the first communal activity happening in the forest, in collaboration with craftsmen specialized in lime. Digging the ground for the slab and the table to be poured are participatory activities, providing people with the experience of placemaking. Most materials and fuels (rainwater, pruned wood and human energy) come from the site itself, making this project affordable for the community. Heights are based on standard bricks (2, 3 or 4 vertical bricks), according to the ergonomy of each use: the fire point is high enough for the security of children (4 bricks), the work plan is a table height to sit down comfortably (3 bricks) and the water point is low to the ground for accessibility (2 bricks). The lime plaster finish provides a reassuring sensation for fragile users like kids or elderly people. The design of the construction system is open, which enables the heights, the amount of units or the spacing in between them to be simply adapted for specific needs of children or disabled persons for example. The inclusivity of the design goes along with that of activities. The programmation of the space gives way for manual work of low complexity that can be easily taught to anyone. The seasonal character of the forest requests communal processing, because the materials it provides come in large quantities. For example, oak trees provide enough acorns to share with everyone in abundant years. All cultural relationships to trees have their space here, which means anyone that has a special knowledge about the transformation of local plants will be welcome to host an activity and share forest stories, rituals and recipes
A protocol involving local stakeholders comes with this forest activation system. Stakeholders can include city municipalities, regional administrations, associations of citizens, schools and cultural spaces that share a perspective of transformation for a public forest. First and foremost, a governance model is voted to define the roles of the main stakeholders and identify them among the group. This committee has to involve at least a forest expert, a local politician and two local inhabitants motivated by the project. House rules are defined by those actors to limit unethical behaviors.
The implementation of La clairière starts with a co-design process, where the stakeholders decide where in the forest they want to build the glade and for what activities. My role as a designer is to support the co-design process by identifying the local materials on site that can be sourced, work with artisans to try out different lime mixes and make adjustments to the original design depending on its planned use. This will make sure that each installation is well suited for its context.
The local stakeholders will be equally involved in the programmation of the space, and people can subscribe to an open call for seasonal activities they would like to propose. This open calendar will be published on an online platform, after a regulation by the main stakeholders, to prevent dangerous processes. Those activities can be suggested by professionals or amateurs, to ensure that a variety of grounds are covered.
Through the platform of La clairière, local inhabitants can join activities, publish ideas and express their suggestions for the next seasons. This makes sure they feel integrated in the ecosystem of La Clairière.
In the long run, the ambition of the project is that public institutions can establish a network of these stations, demonstrating its scalability, and creating a network of forest makerspaces across Europe.
This concept was developed for my final project for my master of industrial design at the french design school Ensci Les Ateliers, partner of the NEB.
It is based on a background research of three years on agroforestry, fed by field research in public food forests and informed by input from a wide array of experts ranging from ethnobotany (i.e. Geneviève Michon), geography (i.e. Maxime Leloup), food forestry (i.e. Claire Mauquié), forest exploitation (i.e. Pagatxa) and ethnography (i.e. Serge Bahuchet). I’ve been investigating collaborative processes and participatory design through internships in public policy design in the agency Vraiment Vraiment and with the collective of architects Dallas. Those experiences pushed my ability to unite citizens around participatory constructions. This project was led by Henriëtte Waal, the artistic research director of Atelier Luma. The ambition to enhance bioregions of the Atelier Luma has clearly influenced my initiative. Many designers and teachers at Ensci helped me with the technical elaboration of this project, in order to insure its feasability: our materials and processes technical advisor, our workshop managers and industrial designers. I learnt about lime plaster techniques and transformations of forest materials through an extensive bibliography and an active web community, allowing me to elaborate my own materials with barks, fruits and tannins from oaks and lime trees. For my diploma project, I started a collaboration with le jardin-forêt de Cabessut, a public food forest in the city of Cahors. There, I had my first experience of self-led participatory design by designing and building a signage system with locals. It was the occasion to apply those competences on the field, and to fully understand the benefits of shared worksites in forests. The community there would like to welcome the first prototype of La clairière.
Investigating our relationship to the forests involved historical inputs, from ethnographers studying lost uses of vegetal materials across cultures, as well as practical knowledge provided by my own design research with forest products. By looking into historical uses, I could learn about the practice of pruning before the industrial revolution, as a means for self-sufficiency for uses like basketry or firewood. On the other hand, field research showed that pruning branches at certain times of the year is an interaction with the tree that still exists in cities, mainly to manage facades, and in agriculture to serve as fodder for animals and in forest gardens, where this practice is of primary importance. The field of agroforestry taught me that branches of large trees are cut back to the ground to create organic matter, leaving direct light for the plants in the lower strata.
In order to demonstrate what kind of forest products could be produced in La clairière, I investigated sources of vernacular knowledge about forgotten uses of trees with a strong cultural heritage such as limes and oaks, that I could directly challenge through material experimentation. Web-related popular culture also fed onto this research. Starting with lime branches, I explored the transformation of lime bark into textile fiber, which was once used for ropes on boats, to make biodegradable paper pulp, weaves and surfaces. The track of flour alternatives got me experimenting with lime leaves and oak acorns, as nutritious ways to replace processed flours with leaves and fruits. Finally, ancestral recipes of oak tannin dyes allowed me to develop a wide array of colors, and a printing technique that could be an alternative to chemical dyes. This research on vernacular modes of production extended to the field of architecture when it came to designing the transformation station and exploring the old craft of lime plasters. Low tech was also involved for the design of the fire point.
The basis of La Clairière lies in rediscovering ancient practices and confronting them with our contemporary needs and uses. It is about updating vernacular culture in order to reintegrate these local products into our daily lives. This reinterpretation is a form of innovation, looking back at modes of production that were more sustainable, inclusive and beautiful than our current practices.
If the acorn was once a food staple, what form will it take on our plate tomorrow? How will we mix it with the ingredients we consume on a daily basis? These are the kind of questions I would like to ask with this research, and this will happen through collective experimentation.
This movement can be the starting point of local circuits for foods and materials, to bring out those that have the most potential as alternatives to industrial products. If public forests are detached from professional activities today, it might be different in the future.
Production as it was practiced before the industrial revolution will have to be confronted with contemporary methods, but this first step can at least help us find value in local tree products.
Social fermentation, which sees communities as ferments in a human induced transformation, is at the heart of the project. The ambition to make people autonomous goes along with the pedagogical aspects that follow through on all steps of the process: citizens get empowered in the appropriation of public space, they get involved in a design process and learn how to build and make things for themselves.
As opposed to other makerspaces, there is the idea of working in a natural environment, away from offices and computers. This model makes space for new activities in our society, where we can learn to use natural resources in a reasoned way. All four categories of the NEB are represented here : the connection with nature, the sense of belonging, giving priority to the space of the forest and shaping the circular economies.
La Clairière has been designed to be a replicable construction principle, suitable to all kinds of forested environments with a perspective of transformation. The only constraints to the places are that they should be easily accessible by foot, on a rather flat surface, connected to a rainwater collector and activated by a community.
Forests are present all over the world but they are made of different plant species and soil compositions. The building principle of La Clairière relies on pruned wood and local soil or sand that can be extracted directly from the site, when the clearing is made. The species that are on the settlement can be transformed into sticks and seats and the earth, sand or pigments that are dug out to pour the lime cement slab is integrated into the mix. Local fibers like hemp can also be integrated to some extent, depending on the climate and the need for insulation: they can help in dry and cold climates but make the mix moldy if it is a humid territory. This principle can work for most spaces, and the aesthetic will vary according to the territories and their landscape.
The only modular elements are the bricks making the structure of the modules, made locally but sharing the same standard dimensions, and the zinc used for the basin, made from a standard sheet of 1 per 2 meters.
This combination of modular standard elements and local materials for finishing makes it possible to build a clairière in any forest.
Similarly, the processes investigated as examples of transformation activities to make color, fiber and flour can be adaptable to local floras. The two local trees investigated, oaks and lime trees, are common to most European floras. But in the mediterranean area, or in the nordic forests, other species of trees and plants can find similar applications. Trees and plants full of tannins, edible parts and fibrous opportunities are countless.
By creating a local circular economy based on forest products, where manual labor is valued, overconsumption of imported products can be reconsidered and challenged.
Similarly, the value of products can be understood by making things ourselves.
This way, we can slowly reintegrate local resources into our daily lives.
Citizens can sense meaning in a new type of work and gain a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Such devices can change their perceptions of forests and help them establish a better relationship to nature.
Processing local products with low energy consumption can also mean that the challenges of air pollution and climate change can directly be addressed, creating clean chains of production on a local scale. If more and more public processing stations make it possible for locals to access tools of transformation, it will also highlight the diversity in forests and the wide array of species that we take for granted.
Besides, the forest will become a social space, activated by a dynamic where processes of inclusion and solidarity can take place, away from classical social interactions. The act of making something from a common resource and sharing it can unite people.
In the long run, a social economy around products from the forest can emerge, changing forest management from the monoculture or the preserved area to a rich cultural space, where nature is respected and magnified, through the works of the community.
