Laying slate requires special skills. It is a craft technique that enhances the natural properties of slate from the moment they are placed on the covering. CUPA GROUP wants to preserve and promote this traditional profession that has been passed on as part of the cultural legacy of many generations of slate layers.

Therefore, the CUPA PIZARRAS team in France organised the “Inventer l’ardoise de demain” contest (Inventing tomorrow’s slate). This is an initiative that seeks to develop the technical and creative side of future slate layers studying in Compagnons du Devoir vocational centres, present in many French cities.

The contest’s main objective was to create a model using natural slate from an innovative and contemporary perspective but also applicable in a real project. The most voted team was the young slate layers’ team from Périgueux.

Their project, Slate Block, proposed six new different slate laying systems on a façade which also facilitated the slate layer’s work. This competition shows once again that natural slate is not only an exceptional material, but that it also fosters creativity and innovation, the key to CUPA GROUP’s success.