Paysage De Pain

In France, bread is essential to daily life, yet its abundance often leads to waste. According to a 2018 study by ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency), 11% of bread from bakeries is rejected from sale. Of this unsold bread, 15% is donated, 25% repurposed as animal feed, and 60% destroyed.

Paysage de Pain (Landscape of Bread) transforms this symbol of waste into an immersive architectural experience. Set in a historic courtyard for the 2025 Festival des Architectures Vives, the installation explores gluttony not as excess, but as a lens for sustainable reinvention. Constructed from reformed baguettes, which are sourced in partnership with Pain Espoir–a non-profit based locally in Montpellier–the structure is a dialogue between indulgence with the urgency of environmental responsibility.

Visitors are invited to wander through the sculpture and interact with a new interpretation of daily bread. By elevating discarded bread into a tactile material, Paysage de Pain celebrates both the aesthetic potential of food and the creativity needed to confront waste.

Here, gluttony becomes a celebration of transformation—an architectural delicacy that invites exploration and reflection on how we consume, discard, and create. In the spirit of the festival, Paysage de Pain is not only a feast for the senses but also a call to savor resources with care and ingenuity.

Typology: Architecture
Client: Festival Des Architectures Vives 2025
Program: Public Installation
Location: Montpellier, France
Area: 15 m2
Status: Completed
Photo Credits: Paul Kozlowski

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