tchanquées contemporary stilts by pierre-césar lafaysse & marion decroix

tchanquées contemporary stilts by pierre-césar lafaysse & marion decroix 
all images courtesy of véronique huyghe

the south of france, near cap-ferret, is where ENSCI-les ateliers design student pierre-césar lafaysse calls home. the city has a rich history defined by a somewhat curious object: stilts. there, farmers have for years utilized hand-fabricated versions to walk across the territory’s vast swamps in order to manage their herds. at the same time, neighboring fishermen took advantage of similar methods to create stilt-houses to hover above the water.

demonstration 

unfortunately, those times have passed, leaving the once handy piece of equipment to collect dust in some dark corner or used only as a novelty. together with classmate marion decroix, the two decided to give stilts a facelift. their result, ‘tchanquées’ marries hand-planed pine — such as used historically — with no-nonsense steel for a simple aesthetic constructed with neither glue nor screw.

stepping onto the stilt 

‘tchanquées’ is thin at the top, and expands in thickness gradually towards the bottom. around two-thirds the way down, is a step made of steel. each tube is hand bent, cut, and welded — securely fastening itself to the wooden stilt. the piece is exceptionally strong, and gives plenty of room for a foot. the stilts are fully functional; all that’s left is finding something to use them for.  

bent steel shapes 

backing 

‘tchanquées’ were hand made by decroix and lafaysse 

detail 

exploded view 

sketches

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.