Alpine Planet

Transforming La Roche de Rame, France
Master Project – Winter Term 2020/21 (Module AR30389)

La Roche de Rame is located in the valley of Haute Durance, department of Haute-Alpes, France. The commune was mainly developed in the Middle Ages and was often destroyed by severe floods of the Durance River. After the construction of the Serre-Ponçon Dam in 1961, the regulated water flow contributed to many industrial developments on the banks of the river. The MG industries -Le Planet- are situated just over 1 kilometer south of the main settlement and cover almost 5 hectares on the eastern bank of the Durance. The site has a vivid industrial past but nowadays only the northern part is still active. It is surrounded by agriculture, lies within the floodplain of the river and has high ecological value (Natura 2000).

The project challenges the participants to get acquainted with the transformations the site has been through as well as the great geological, topological and hydrological diversity of the region. Flows, energy, water management and decontamination of the area have an important role in the project and will influence the future development of the brownfield site.