Trélazé, slate capital

France’s slate capital, Trélazé lived for centuries to the rhythm of its quarries, closed in 2014 after six hundred years of extraction. Ten years after the last pit shut down, the city gave us a clear mission: let Trélazéens, long-time and newcomers alike, reclaim this heritage, and turn it into a driver of tourism. "Understand your past to better grasp the present," as mayor Lamine Naham put it.

The project was built in close cooperation with the city and its local associations, who contributed their historical and cultural knowledge. Our immersive reconstructions bring the quarries back to life at full activity, on the very sites of the former pits: a kiosk and an augmented trail run through several of the town’s emblematic places.

The content was delivered for the 2023 European Heritage Days, after ten months of production. The first reactions from residents say it all: emotion, and pride at rediscovering from a new angle a heritage that is part of their collective identity.