According to Emmanuel Grimaud, Yann Philippe Tastevin, and Denis Vidal, “wild tech refers to ways of making that disrupt conventions, redefine the meaning of innovation, and sometimes defy all classification.”
It can involve a blend of local and globalized techniques, simple (low-tech) and complex (high-tech) technologies, artisanal and industrial processes, situated and expert know-how, and both expected and unexpected uses. It often entails the assembly of “already existing” or ordinary elements into extraordinary systems; the value of these systems lies not in their level of sophistication, but in how they are reconfigured within increasingly complex, heterogeneous, and unstable social and environmental contexts.
This project is led by Emmanuel Ducourneau—a designer, anthropologist, and cartographer—with the support of scientific and cultural institutions. Passionate about his native region of Les Landes, he brings together his teaching (school), research (lab), and community-based activities in a single location: the Wild Tech SchooLab in Moliets-et-Maâ, on the Landes coast.
Contact: [email protected]