BREEDING GROUND

Location : Douaisis Agglo, France

Clients : Municipality of Douais ( Fr )

Status : Special mention, Europan 2021 - On going

Team : Estelle Barriol ( Studio ACTE ) & Georges Taminiau ( Studio B9)

THE COMMONS - Concept

The collective memory written by the mining past reveals existing social mechanisms based on a will to do and a capability to reinvent itself. Sharing, mutual aid, and social structure have been the core of the urban fabric of these mining districts. The closure of the mines has forced these territories to renew themselves and despite a national desire to regenerate an economy, these territories reveal a nostalgia and an immense need for revitalization. What if the collective memory of mines was the ground for a new social economy? In this way, the mines wealth of the past will become the energy of tomorrow. Polluted land will be the site of new know-how and shared agriculture. The practical school will train professionals on circular know-how, inviting sustainable materials and energies. Dorignies and Flers will base their metabolism on a Community Land Trust in response to the old garden cities. The inhabitants will be the actors and the protectors of these possible spaces, where time and learning will be valued as much as generating economy. These new vitalities will be sources of sharing and social revitalization.

MAKE DO - FAIRE AVEC - Methode
Make Do is building with the community, the ressources and the available space. The process will urge to think-up , to locate, to program and to activate before starting building. Inhabitants, municipalities and design teams must create a tool box in order to weave the vital

synergy between programs and needs. Breeding ground symbolizes the growth of a territory rich in knowledge, time, resources and landscape. Therefore, the process is based on the logic of farming ( to plant/ to cultivate/ to pollinate ) generating the vital needs for the community. At the heart of the process, clear project phases must be established, starting with a first vital intervention: the permanent lab or house of the Commons. This phase 1, “to plant” responds to the urgency and the need to start revitalization tomorrow. A strong activation process can allow the fast implementation of the project in a modest and evolving economic framework. The involvement of the community is at the heart of this process. The second phase, “to cultivate”, aims to engage projects on a larger-scale. Directly inspired by the first phase of activation, these urban interventions are established in a lasting and permanent manner. They will become the perennial components of the Douaisis. The third phase “to pollinate” marks the clear transition towards a deep urban renewal made possible by a new economy. The impact of this profound revitalization will attract and produce a growing economy enhancing the urban and social renewal.