Le Détour de France

The “Détour de France” is a project developed between October 2011 and August 2012. Inspired by the bicycle race “Tour de France”, twelve of the permanent members of the collective were cycling around the country for a full year, from Strasbourg to Strasbourg, the city where the collective was founded and where its first projects were carried out. Stopovers of a few weeks were planned in twelve major towns of France. The itinerary was set based on existing contacts and remained flexible to leave room for meetings and opportunities that arise during the journey.

In many French towns, initiatives that implicate the citizens in the management and the planning of their cities are emerging.This phenomenon raises consciousness about the need to think the future of our cities together, as a mean for effective democracy and social empowerment. These initiatives come from very different people: inhabitants, associations, committees, artists, professionals, institutions, elected officials… Our goal was to meet these different “actors” to get involved with them in the “public making process of the city” and to seek a possible evolution of the work of an architect towards a more social practice. The « Détour de France » had two main aims: identify, analyze and create a network of these various actors, and build with them actual projects in public space.