Located in the heart of the Vosges region, Wood Valley is home to a thousand specialist timber companies and educational establishments. This is where the authorities in Épinal have chosen to build the Hôtel Innovation Bois, an engineering hub designed to be a catalyst for innovation in the timber sector by stimulating collaboration and synergies between local timber-industry stakeholders. Since it opened in 2021, this hub has been promoting the circular economy, which is intrinsically linked to sustainable urbanism, in the town of Épinal and its surrounding communities. According to urban planner Sylvain Grisot, the urban development model is based on use intensification, the transformation of existing buildings, densification and the recycling of urban spaces, in line with the goal of “zero net artificialisation”. Learn more: lafabriquedelacite.com/