In the heart of the town of Trélazé, near Angers, the former Manufacture d’allumettes will undergo a complete overhaul in 2019, marked by the construction of housing and the installation of a supermarket. To preserve the working-class memory of this emblematic site, the association “Les Amis du patrimoine trélazéen” initiated the construction of the “Doublure” chimney, an imposing artistic work culminating at 24 meters in height. The craftsmanship of Rairies Montrieux played a central role in this daring undertaking, supplying uniquely shaped bricks specially designed for this contemporary artistic creation.
The chimney is 24 metres high.
An ambitious project
To perpetuate the memory of the match factory, an emblematic witness to Trélazé’s industrial past, the idea of recreating a chimney evoking the factory’s historic activity was born. Les Amis du patrimoine trélazéen launched a call for artists to bring this vision to life. Among the candidates, renowned artist Raphaël Zarka was chosen as the winner for this artistic creation.
ESBTP, a Sarthe-based building and civil engineering company, won the contract to build the site after an initial unsuccessful tender. With the help of Compagnons du Devoir, ESBTP successfully met the complex technical challenges involved.
Funding for the €650,000 project was provided by grants from the French government, the Fondation de France, the regional and departmental councils, and numerous private donors.
The work of art, to be completed by the end of 2023, is the only one of its kind in France, rising to a height of 24 meters and featuring a spirally sculpted interior accessible to visitors.
Tailor-made bricks for a unique fireplace
No fewer than 35,000 bricks were needed for the project, of which 11,000 were custom-made by Rairies Montrieux craftsmen, bringing a touch of authenticity and craftsmanship to this modern creation.
“To create this helicoidal interior design, we had to create made-to-measure parts, i.e. six different brick models, repeated over the entire height of the chimney with a diameter of 3 meters,” explains Bruno Boisdron, Prescription Sales Manager at Rairies Montrieux.
The complexity of working with brick and stone shapes quickly emerged. The challenge lay in the need to create specific geometric shapes to achieve the desired helical and elliptical effect inside the chimney. “Unlike the usual brick shapes, which are usually parallelepipeds, this project required more protruding forms and precise details to realize artist Zarka’s vision. As a result, we developed molds adapted to meet the requirements of the imagined design,” emphasizes Bruno Boisdron.
Rairies Montrieux shaped 11,000 custom-made bricks for this work.
Creative and technical cooperation
As soon as the project was launched, members of theAmis du patrimoine trélazéen association went straight to the Rairies plant to meet Rémy Montrieux, CEO of Rairies Montrieux, and Arnaud Chevet, plant manager, to exchange ideas and visions for the chimney.
“This association has really invested in making this project a reality and finalizing it. They took the initiative of approaching our brickworks, knowing of our expertise in the manufacture of special parts, and they were able to recognize and appreciate our know-how during their visit to the plant. This reinforced their decision to work with us.
This project required several meetings between the brickworks, the artist and members of the association, with the assistance of an architect for the 3D modeling of the project. “Following this visit and our exchanges, Raphaël Zarka came to the factory to assess our ability to make the specific products needed for this project.” Despite its technical complexity, the parts were successfully designed thanks to the Rairies Montrieux design office, headed by Arnaud Chevet and Arnaud Salmon, head of production channels.
In all, some 7,000 man-hours were devoted to the project over a one-year period. The official inauguration is scheduled for June 2024.
The “Doublure”, completed at the end of 2023, is open to visitors.
