Local Supply Chains and Co-Design Processes. A Project for a Potential Transformation of the Pechiney Industry in the French Alps

Dealing with mountain territories does not only mean dealing with a disused vernacular heritage: conducting research and design in these complex territories weakened by recent history pushes us to deal with the theme of production -a pervasive and strongly characterizing dimension of the entire Alpine arc- understood on the one hand as large physical legacies linked to old industries, which require reflection on possible forms of spatial recovery; on the other as a challenge of the project to imagine new forms of production to reactivate territories in crisis, in the process of abandonment and depopulation.The definition of a design strategy for the recovery of these areas is necessary not only to foresee a new use, but also to outline development prospects on a local, territorial and cross-border scale, capable of encouraging cooperation, returning the site to the surrounding territory, enhancing its identity places through processes of reuse, reappropriation and re-signification of the space.This paper –situated in the field of architectural studies– intends to use the recent process of rethinking the former metallurgical factory of Pechiney, located in L'Argentière-la-Bessée (FR), as an emblematic case through which to start a reflection on the potential resources and fragilities that characterize these complex territorial palimpsests, and consequently the processes that try to settle there, articulating around the following questions: what does it mean to reactivate abandoned industrial sites by finding new forms of production, not only of material goods but of culture? What potential cross-border relations do these new forms of production based on the principles of sustainability and valorization of local resources introduce? How can we return these intrinsically closed spaces to the surrounding landscape and community, creating hybrid uses between welfare and production? What is the role of time and participation?