In September 2021, the french municipality of Lagraulet-du-Gers is calling on students from ENSCI—Les Ateliers to participate in a local project. It just made the acquisition of a vacation resort abandoned more than 10 years ago, a 17 hectares site with a large lake, buildings invaded by a luxuriant vegetation, century-old oaks and giant pines. Hosted on site for two weeks of work, we were introduced to a design practice in contact with local stakeholders, in a rural context, from surveying to making with banquets or storytelling walks.

We imagined a space to welcome artists, designers, but also farmers and cooks in residency to experiment new ways of dealing with contemporary social and environmental challenges. The first cullinary residency took place at the end of the workshop.