New uses and layouts of the Loire banks

Published on 13 May 2013 - Updated 19 December 2013
Cet article date d'il y a plus de 10 ans

Landscape and development, Mission Val de Loire, UNESCO landscape workshops

The Mission Val de Loire is organising 2 sessions of the landscape UNESCO workshop on this theme on Wednesday 12 June 2013 at the Domaine régional de Chaumont and on Friday 14 June 2013 at Fontevraud Abbey. It invites local authorities, State departments, heritage and landscape associations, designers and developers to come and share their experiences and forge a project culture fit for the exceptional environment that these Loire banks represent – together.

From Sunday outings to summer hiking, walks, cycle rides or water sports, more and more of you are heading to the banks of the Loire for recreation – particularly in towns that have successfully made the river an integral feature of their activities once again. In addition to the initial users, inhabitants, fisherfolk and farmers, there are now a great many local and foreign visitors for whom these natural or agricultural areas are also now leisure centres.

To meet these new uses, the banks of the Loire are being laid out into cycle paths, picnic areas, canoe-kayak centres, pontoons, open-air cafés and playgrounds, filling up with facilities and fixtures.

How can these areas be adapted without overwhelming them?

How can the harmony of these natural landscapes, that so many people enjoy looking upon, be preserved?

Where and how should leisure facilities be designed, taking not just users' expectations into account but also the heritage and environmental quality of the sites listed as a UNESCO World Heritage?