On 14 March 2023, the Pays d'art et d'histoire (Pah) of the Pays d'Epinal coeur des Vosges inaugurated "La Glucoserie" its Centre d'interprétation de l'architecture et du patrimoine (CIAP). This tool of awareness and appropriation of the inhabitants to their territory benefited from the financial support of the State, the Grand Est Region, the department of Vosges, the Agglomeration Community of Épinal and the Pole of territorial and rural balance of the Pays d'Epinal coeur des Vosges.
The centres of interparchitecture and heritage conservation (CIAP)
As a lever for cultural development, the label is based on various tools, including a Architectural and Heritage Interpretation Centre. The objectives of the CIAP, defined by the Convention Pays d'art et d'histoire, are:
- provide the inhabitants with a tool for appropriation of their territory and its historical, heritage and urban components by presenting the successive stages of the constitution of the territory, contextualized, in relation to geological data, geographical, historical, political, religious, socio-economic and technical;
- to raise awareness of the challenges of architectural, urban and landscape development in order to involve the public more in the implementation of heritage development projects. In this context, the CIAP is a privileged place for information and debate on urban planning projects, ongoing projects, etc.;
- become a place for exchange and sharing knowledge about the territory. Many animations set up within the framework of the Country of art and history will be done in or from this site;
- the set will be designed with the aim of offering a playful and educational discovery, requiring no prerequisites, in order to allow apprehension by all audiences. Indeed, as a place of information and pedagogy, the CIAP is aimed at various audiences:
- the local population of the Pays d'Épinal, Coeur des Vosges;
- children and especially school children;
- the tourists.
"La Glucoserie": Interpretive Centrearchitecture and heritage of Epinal Coeur des Vosges
The architectural and heritage interpretation centre project has been a strong desire of the community since the signing of the first Pays d'art et d'histoire convention in 2014. It constitutes the extension of the territory formalised in the second agreement signed in 2021. The CIAP reflects all the communes of the Pah: 172 communes. It is a free cultural equipment for locals, school audiences and tourists.
E CIAP financingpinal Coeur des Vosges
The project amount is €1,226,233. The equipment was supported by:
- Pole of territorial and rural balance (PETR) of the Pays d'Epinal coeur des Vosges: 492 757 €
- State - Local investment support grant (DSIL) in the framework of France Relaunch: €223,829
- State - Value Added Tax (VAT) Compensation Fund: €167,414
- Condition - DRAC: €100,000 (scenography)
- Grand Est region: 129 600 €
- Department: 90 106 €
- Community of Agglomeration of Epinal: 22,527 € (outdoor spaces)
The building chosen, the Maison Saint Michel (former family house Schupp, manufacturer of glucose) is the property of the Pôle d'équilibre territorial et rural (PETR) since September 2019. It is located below the castle, in a dynamic cultural peripheral area in the immediate vicinity of the Intercommunal Multimedia Library, the Contemporary Art Centre (The Plumbing), the Wall (space dedicated to street art) and the Cinema Palace.
The CIAP occupies a former industrial site (weaving and glucoserie), on the edge of a road which has been requalified and which has the interest to ensure the connection between the castle and the old center.
This area has a rich industrial history. It is in the heart of this small valley nestled between the hill of the castle and that of the Justice that Jean Humbert and Charles-Henri Schupp benefit from the driving force of the water of the stream of Poissompré (today channelled underground, which runs along Rue Saint Michel and flows into the Moselle) and here, in particular, weave cotton cloths and plant a sugar plant in 1858.
Specialized in the refinery of white syrups, the manufacture of glucose and pasta, the latter is crowned at the world exhibitions of 1867 and 1878. From 9 workers in 1866, it employed 18 workers in 1883 and 30 in the 1900s.
After a century of activity, the company closed its doors in 1952. The site is taken over by the Société des Transports Automobiles des Hautes Vosges (STAHV) to park its numerous vehicles and its ski lift equipment. The Schupp family house was then used to house the STAHV offices and its interior, originally residential, was modified several times. After the departure of the STAHV in 2003, the industrial buildings were demolished but the family house Schupp was preserved.
The project architectural
The project was entrusted to the cabinet of the architect of Jean-Luc Gérard, JLG Architect, and the scenography at cabinet "Presence".
Since the building has been closed since 2003, major renovation and rehabilitation work was required to develop an architectural and heritage interpretation centre (creation of 2 floors, installation of a staircase and an elevator in the center of the building, large openings towards the outside) but it was important to preserve the exterior aspect, which retained its original character.
The building has the shape of an 11-metre square and has, on the south side, beautiful models that testify to the prestige of its founder. In order not to distort the original shape of the building, the elevator shaft was placed in the centre of the building. It is around this large concrete elevation, which now serves as a new load-bearing wall, that the new spaces of the Glucoserie are articulated. In too bad condition and sometimes dangerous, the interior walls and ceilings had to be destroyed. They were rebuilt in local wood, in order to be in harmony with the natural riches of the territory. Learn more about building restoration
Presennew equipment
With a surface area of 313 m2, it consists, on the ground floor, of spaces dedicated to the reception, an office, a storage space and the teaching room, at 1er and 2e Floor of the permanent exhibition, and temporary exhibition in part of the 1er floor.
A multimedia model composed of a relief plan with projection and topographical presentation of the territory is the starting point of the visit and the heart of the permanent exhibition.
The exhibitions are based on descriptive panels, audio testimonials, touch-screen models, short films (20-film term) and virtual reality headsets.
The permanent exhibition includes 25 themes distributed between the 2 floors (natural, industrial, religious, castral, First and Second World Wars and architectural heritage through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, rural housing, urban planning of the XVIIIe century until 1939, the spa and the second Reconstruction.
The interior layout was accompanied by the treatment of surrounding areas (vegetation, panels, totem pole) to give the CIAP more visibility and readability.
The inaugural temporary exhibition is entitled “From Reconstruction to Construction: The Land of Epinal after the Second World War”.