Grand Reims
In 2015, the Greater Reims urban community launched a major project to overhaul its heritage and tourist signage, organising it by theme to highlight the richness of the urban area. The aim is also to make the information more accessible to tourists (particularly English and German speakers), while at the same time designing furniture that will blend harmoniously into the urban environment.
Grand Reims has opted for a competitive tender, launching a design-and-build competition for all the pedestrian signage in its area. To meet the requirements of the tender, Empreinte teamed up with the e/n/t design agency, which was responsible for the design. Empreinte is responsible for the technical development of the objects, manufacture, installation and maintenance.
After several months of competition, the project submitted by e/n/t design and Empreinte was selected.
The urban community is initially focusing on the creation of tourist and heritage trails. Just 50 minutes from Paris by TGV, Reims is a popular day trip for tourists.
The capital of Champagne, Reims is the city where the kings of France were crowned. Destroyed in the First World War, it was rebuilt in the Art Deco style, giving the city a unique architectural identity. These are the main themes on which the themed tours have been built :
- Two ‘City of Champagne’ itineraries, one of which includes Unesco World Heritage sites,
- A ‘Sacred City’ trail
- In the footsteps of Art Deco’ trail
- A ‘Contemporary Architecture’ itinerary.
In the interests of sustainability and environmental protection, the signage is made from enamelled lava, printed in four-colour process and enhanced with gold screen printing. The furniture, designed to blend into the landscape, is made of engraved and powder-coated aluminium.
A QR code has been integrated into these devices, giving access to a web application administered by the city. This can be used to find out more about the city's heritage, in several languages.
In all, 35 tables and around a hundred vertical labels have been installed throughout the area to create these routes. At the same time, children's trails, symbolised by enamelled lava markers embedded in the ground, allow younger visitors to discover the heritage in a fun way.
For the second part of the project, some thirty neighbourhood totems were deployed, along with 8 entrance totems. Larger than the vertical signs, they are also double-sided. They highlight the remarkable bridges in the different sectors and help pedestrians find their way around.
Pedestrian directional signage is now being installed. It links the various points of interest using aluminium signposts fitted with adjustable blades. A total of 42 masts and 236 directional blades make up this urban signage system.
Since the installation of this signage, the tourist office has seen an increase in demand for leaflets on these themed routes. The people of Rémain (Champagne houses, local councillors, associations) have also given the project a positive reception, and continue to add to it with their contributions, particularly via the web application.
Project sponsor: Greater Reims Urban Community
Designer: e/n/t design
Photographs: Julie Beyou / Empreinte
Site features Project deployed on an inter-municipal scale, urban signposting, Unesco World Heritage sites
Technical features Enamelled stoneware printed and screen-printed in gold, engraved and powder-coated aluminium furniture, powder-coated aluminium directional masts with adjustable slats.
