This project is rooted in the heart of my native Brittany, in the west of France. My great-grandfather, a stonemason in the Parigné granite quarry, worked this emblematic material of mainland France with his bare hands, having only one working arm. Every day, he devoted his energy to working this indigenous material. Proud of this heritage, I feel the need to breathe new life into this region’s rich granite heritage.

In 2022, the Parigné quarry closed its doors, leaving behind a vast abandoned industrial complex. My project emerges within this natural space, and extends my research into the relationship between the land, the materials it offers, and the multiple possibilities of these materials in furniture and architecture.

Here, I present my vision of rehabilitating this industrial wasteland into a collaborative workshop dedicated to research into the material granite. Intended for students, designers and craftsmen, this space would be a place for exploring the physico-chemical properties of granite, encouraging research into its innovative integration into contemporary architecture and furniture. Such an initiative would help revitalize the region, opening up wider creative prospects for granite, traditionally associated with the funerary domain until now.