This Clock-Shaped Wooden Installation in France Will Be Dismantled and Reused In Facades and Roofs | Tour de France

This Clock-Shaped Wooden Installation in France Will Be Dismantled and Reused In Facades and Roofs | Tour de France

Paying tribute to the watchmaking heritage of the area, this clock-shaped wood installation is located in the Vallée de Joux valley in the center of the Swiss countryside for the cycling race Tour de France. Designed by Swiss designer Fabien Roy, the structure is dubbed Ephemeral Ring due to the temporary nature of the installation. Roy says that he wanted a structure that could easily be repurposed to avoid wasting material. The installation will be dismantled later on and reused by a local carpentry company for the making of wooden cladding facades and ventilated roof substructures. Read SURFACES REPORTER (SR)’s complete report below:

Also Read: 250 Turned Locally Crafted Wooden Installations Adorn The Lucky Chan Restaurant in Bangalore | MAIA Design Studio

fabien-roy-clock-installation-surfaces-reporter

Nestled in the grassy landscape of Vallée de Joux valley, the structure looks like a clock when seen from the sky. A non-profit organisation Vallée de Joux Tourisme has assigned the design work to Fabien Roy to design a project that will mark the Tour de France.

The idea was to promote the natural, cultural and industrial heritage of the religion in Switzerland- which is famous as the name of Watch Valley around the world." As part of the Tour de France cycling race in the Joux Valley, the tourist office wanted to mark the event by setting up an ephemeral installation visible from the sky,” explained Roy.

Spruce Slats Making Up The Ring

The ephemeral ring that is designed to look like a clock is wrapped by spruce wooden slats and screws. The architect used 20 cubic meters of wood to design the structure measuring five kilometers of wooden sticks. A local carpentry company combined each 50 by 60-millimeter spruce wooden slat into the ring with the help of lumberjacks. While the two lines of wood forming the revolving pointers lie in the center of the installation creating the watch face. 

fabien-roy-clock-installation-surfaces-reporterThe ring is around four meters tall with a circumference of 50 meters. The structure is designed to mark the Tour de France, a cycling race that people would also watch on television.

fabien-roy-clock-installation-surfaces-reporterThe people can enjoy the structure while sitting at their home through the birdseye perspective, thanks to helicopters filming the cycling race from the skies.

Home To Famous Swiss Watch Brands

The breathtaking location- ‘Vallée de Joux- is the home to the world-famous Swiss watch brands including Breguet, Blancpain, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Dubois Dépraz. Further, it is also home to the watch brand Audemars Piguet, which has a dedicated watchmaking museum in the same location crafted in a spiral by architecture firm BIG. 

fabien-roy-clock-installation-surfaces-reporter"The idea was to associate the watchmaking universe with the world of forestry, which represents the other pole of activity in the valley," explained Roy.

Also Read: An Ephemeral Inflated Installation Covers The Sacred Art Museum Courtyard In Bilbao | Martillo Neumatico | Spain

Installation Will Be Dismantled and Reused

The structure will be disassembled and reused by a local carpentry company later on to create wooden cladding facades and ventilated roof substructures." In my opinion, such an ephemeral installation only makes sense if it does not generate waste," the designer said. "Today we can no longer afford to waste large quantities of materials to satisfy ephemeral events."

People will be able to walk through the installation on a walkway that directs them to an exhibition where works by local illustrator Jaques Vallotton will be displayed.

Project Details

Architect/ Designer: Fabien Roy
Type: Ephemeral Architecture
Client: Vallée de Joux Tourismea
Design Year: 2022 
Photo Courtesy: Fabien Roy
Source: https://fabienroy.com/

About the Architect

Born in 1984, Fabien Roy is a swiss designer and architect originally from and living in the Swiss Jura Mountains. In 2006, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from The School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (Switzerland), and in 2020 with a master’s degree in product design at ECAL University of Art and Design Lausanne (Switzerland).

Keep reading SURFACES REPORTER for more such articles and stories.

Join us in SOCIAL MEDIA to stay updated

SR FACEBOOK | SR LINKEDIN | SR INSTAGRAM | SR YOUTUBE

Further, Subscribe to our magazine Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter

Also, check out Surfaces Reporter’s encouraging, exciting and educational WEBINARS here.

You may also like to read about:

These Ethereal Twisting Installations of Woven Bamboo Appear To Grow From Ceilings and Walls | Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

Mexican Artist Creates Beautiful Rainbow-Like Installations With Simple Thread

And more…

×
×

Post Your Comment


"Content that powers your Business. News that keeps you informed."

Surfaces Reporter is one of India's leading media in Print & Digital Telecast for News on Interiors & Architecture Projects, Products, Building Materials, and the Business of Design! Since 2011, it serves as a referral for designers & architects to know about inspiring projects and source new products. If you have a Product or Project worth publishing in Surfaces Reporter, please email us hello@surfacesreporter.com or you can also submit your project online.

Like Surfaces Reporter on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram | Subscribe to our magazine | Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter



This is alt