The Rairies Montrieux company is participating in the rehabilitation of the Trélazé match factory

Considered the largest in France in terms of match manufacturing, unique and modern, all made of concrete, it is an integral part of the Trélazéen heritage.

The end of the activity in 1981 will continue with use based on warehouses and artists' studios before a reconversion decision in 2010 confirmed by a memorandum of understanding signed between the owner Podeliha, social landlord, the associations and institutions.

Today the place has been converted into a new residential and activity district, where ultimately there will be 700 inhabitants living in this historic district which has seen many workers work there.

The creation of the Lining, a work imagined by Raphaël Zarka, is part of the rehabilitation of the factory.

It is for this work that the company Rairies Montrieux was commissioned to create the 35.000 bricks, including 11.000 custom-made.

The artist's idea was to use the brick in memory of an existing truncated chimney and to make it a “visitable” chimney, supporting a protected space with a cultural and festive vocation.

The Friends of Trélazéen Heritage association, which participated in this exceptional rehabilitation alongside the Project Manager Podeliha, wanted one of the 3 previously existing chimneys to be rebuilt on this emblematic site of XNUMXth century industrial heritage.

To do this, the association and the Project Manager called on a company from the Companions of Duty movement, the ESBTP company from Le Mans and Rairies Montrieux.

“It was important for us to involve local companies with specific brick know-how,” recalls Pascal Reysset, President of the Friends of the Heritage of Trélazé.

The meeting with the artist and Rairies Montrieux then happened in order to decide together on the bricks which will be intended for the creation of the Lining.

At the end of this interview, six types of bricks were selected.

A creation was made using concrete blocks to be able to integrate our bricks inside the chimney and achieve a helical effect.

For Mr. Montreeux: “We were able to work with Raphael Zarka to make the 6 molds necessary to create the interior work, a circular “lining” 24 meters high which will open onto the sky. The manufacture of these custom-made bricks was a challenge in terms of drying and firing in a wood-fired oven, but we were able to carry it out successfully with our entire team mobilized for this challenge. »

ESBTP has developed a circular mold allowing fellow masons to assemble the bricks following a precise order and layout defined by the artist.

These twenty-ton modules are then raised by a lifting machine and stacked on top of each other. A scrapped and concreted cube then clad with standard bricks ensures the load-bearing capacity of the entire work.

Raphael Zarka's work at the Trélazé Match Factory aspires to affirm the social role of art.

It was important for the artist to protect the remains of an existing brick fireplace while deploying from it a sculpted space to experience and contemplate.

By imagining this second chimney, the artist wanted to restore one of its lost verticals to the landscape.

With its 24 meters high, it roughly corresponds to the initial height of the truncated chimney (25 meters).

“This work will have represented both a financial challenge (bringing together 600.000 euros of public and private sponsorship) and a technical challenge due to the originality of the work,” explains Pascal Reysset, President of the Friends of Trélazé Heritage.

La Doublure was inaugurated on June 14, 2024 by the Minister of Culture and other funders: the Fondation de France, the town of Trélazé, ALM, the Department, the Region, Lidl, Mécènes et Loire and around a hundred individuals including former factory workers.