-
iO
- Designed by: ATELIER4
- Category: Commercial design
- Location: RIOM ES MONTAGNE, France
The Scenopark project proposes, in a 40-hectare natural park a site suitable for the discovery of nature offering visitors a perspective of the history of the relations between man and animal, especially between man and the cow. On the site, animals can be seen in their natural setting. The visitor’s tour is punctuated by a series of buildings housing a staged scene. A restaurant and education room are set up beneath a wood-covered area. Interventions on the site, constructions, fencing and paths are planned with the permanent objective of their integration in a high-quality natural space. Operating buildings are placed in wooded areas and completely covered with back cladding. The reception building backs against a natural cliff and is shaped like the horn of a Salers cow, the animal that symbolises Auvergne. Its outer covering consists of braided chestnut branches over a length of some fifty metres. Visitors enter this braided volume into a hollow space carved out of the rock like a Neolithic shelter. Integration of the buildings therefore relies mainly on a camouflaging strategy. All the disciplines are linked up in this project: architecture, scenography, landscape, etc. The particularity of Scenopark is based on a strong, original bond between man and animal, without ever forgetting that a fantastic element is concealed behind what, at first sight, seems quite ordinary. The reception building reminds one of a giant cocoon, the “maison d’Etienne` calls to mind a Chinese temple and the restaurant a barn. The architecture contributes fully to staging the visitors’ tour.

















