The building site is perhaps one of the most meaningful spaces for architects, as it is where the project comes to life, where techniques are actually applied, putting the project and the designer to the test. Many building sites are affected by work alienation, but they were once a place where craftsmen could learn and pass on knowledge. Today, with the evolution of construction techniques, centuries-old methods are in danger of being forgotten. This brings us to Guédelon Castle, located near the French village of Treigny.
There is no evidence of any medieval constructions ever existing on the site, so Guédelon Castle is a modern-day building built from scratch using only medieval techniques to reproduce a construction site from the 12th and 13th centuries. The plan took shape in the 1990s by a group of architects, historians, and archaeologists, and now has about 70 workers working every day to reproduce the handicraft technologies of the period.
