Named after one of the pirates from Treasure Island, sharing his taste for adventure and wit, Cédric Chauvaud, aka « Chien Noir », handles the « bout » (pronounced « boot », meaning a rope on a boat) like no other. A prodigious seaman and expert rigger, his talent propelled him into the offshore racing world, where he spent 30 years sailing all the world's oceans. Constantly pushing the limits of seamanship, he does not hesitate to adapt his techniques to other fields. Sailors, artists, circus performers, many have benefited from his inventions. In 1997, during the Wind Festival (Festi Ventú) in Calvi, Corsica, he created his first net structure, a whale, intended for children. The success was immediate and convinced its inventor that he was onto something.
The first Parcabout® was born in 2008 in the Grao forest on the island of Groix. It is also on the island, in Fort du Haut-Grognon, that the company Chien Noir settled. It established its offices and workshops there, transforming a late 19th-century military battery into a place of creation and craftsmanship. This is where all net structures are manufactured before being shipped to future Parcabout sites, where a dedicated team handles installation. In just over ten years, Chien Noir has become one of Groix's main employers. The crew counts 15 full-time employees and up to 40 in high season.
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Baleine réalisée pour le Festi Ventú de Calvi
Création d’agrès de cirque pour le ZIP ZAP Circus, l’école de cirque de Cape Town (Afrique du Sud)
Fabrication des filets du radeau de l’expédition du Radeau des cimes à Madagascar
Création du chapiteau de cordes pour le spectacle « Au revoir parapluie » pour l’artiste de cirque James Thierrée
Création de nouveaux agrès pour le ZIP ZAP Circus
Premier Parcabout à Groix
Parcabout au parc Montreau pour la ville de Montreuil
Création de filets custom pour le bateau de course Hydroptère
Premier Parcabout pour le Parc Animalier De Branféré-Ecole Nicolas Hulot
Fabrication des filets du maxi trimaran Prince de Bretagne
Fabrication des filets du radeau de l’expédition du Radeau des cimes au Laos
Premiers projets internationaux (Pays de Galles et Royaume-Uni)
Deuxième Parcabout pour le Parc Animalier De Branféré-Ecole Nicolas Hulot
Premier Parcabout à Plélo
Création d’un gréement de cirque pour l’artiste Marion Collé, Collectif Porte 27
Premier Parcabout à Filenvol
Création d’un gréement de cirque pour marcher à l’envers pour le spectacle « Petites histoires sans gravité » de la compagnie Underclouds
Premier Parcabout au Japon dans la forêt de Maruta no Mori
Premier Parcabout pour le Safari Zoo de Thoiry
Premiers projets en Corée du Sud (Gokseong et Changwon)
Fête des 10 ans du Parcabout à Groix avec tous les artistes de cirque et marins avec lesquels Chien Noir a travaillé
Projet de la passerelle de l’île aux Moines à Perros-Guirec pour le Conservatoire du littoral
Premier Parcabout à la Bambouseraie d’Anduze
Premier projet au Canada (Mont St Grégoire, Québec)
Parcabout à Jinju (Corée du Sud)
Le Casier à mômes pour la mairie de Groix
Parcabout à Brain-sur-Allonnes
Parcabout (100% poteaux) à Hongseong (Corée du Sud)
Premier projet en Ontario
Deuxième Parcabout à Plélo
Deuxième Parcabout pour le Safari Zoo de Thoiry
Deuxième Parcabout à Filenvol
Deuxième Parcabout à la Bambouseraie d’Anduze
Troisième Parcabout pour le Parc Animalier De Branféré-Ecole Nicolas Hulot
Parcabout à Mios
Six premiers nids à l’étranger (Canada)
Chien Noir offers Parcabout® with permanent structures whose installation, whether on trees or poles, is reversible and does not affect the environment. This knowledge of techniques and mastery of know-how has been constantly nourished by experimentation, observation, and the capacity to innovate. The activity is organized around three main steps: design, manufacturing, and installation. The creation steps of a Parcabout® are as follows:
For a project installed in trees, following a favorable opinion from the phytosanitary expert, a precise site survey is established using a tachometer, ensuring a perfectly adjusted design. For a project installed 100% on supporting structures, a structural engineer produces a calculation note to define pole sizing and anchoring nature. A precise soil survey allows adequate pole placement.
Once the design is validated by the client, the manufacturing of the various Parcabout elements (play modules, walkways, slides, etc.) begins in the workshops at Fort du Haut-Grognon on the island of Groix. All elements are then shipped to the installation site.
On-site setup is carried out by our teams. The average assembly duration is 6 weeks and varies depending on the project's surface area.
Before opening to the public, an independent expert inspects the structure. Their visit is then scheduled every year of operation.
Located in the northwest of Groix, Fort du Haut-Grognon belongs to a battery dating from the late 19th century, a military work built to reinforce the island's defense. Owned by the army, the site knew several fates in contemporary times (holiday colony, equestrian center, etc.) until the late 90s when the Conservatoire du littoral became the new owner.
Left abandoned, the environment deteriorated until October 2014 when Chien Noir's installation project was officially validated. Rehabilitation work began 6 months later. Everything had to be done. Clearing, installing water and electricity, redoing the rooms, one by one, patiently. Over the projects, Chien Noir took possession of the site and infused it with a new genius loci. A heritage trade thus brings a heritage site back to life.
