Traditional wood frame - Socabat construction

Stamped Esprit parc national - Pyrenees for its slate roofing, stone masonry walls and traditional timber framing, Socabat is a public works, civil engineering and construction company based in the Aure valley.

We are a construction company, specializing in structural work and roofing. We are based in Saint-Lary-Soulan in the Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune that has signed up to the National Park charter.

We are regularly called upon to carry out work involving traditional and specific skills, such as cladding and low stone walls. Or, on the roofing side, carved solid wood frames and slate roofs.

We're a company that was set up just over 32 years ago by my father, who lives in the valley and his father was a bricklayer.

We work in a variety of settings, and one of the most interesting projects we've worked on is the parking lot at Lac d'Aubert, in the Néouvielle National Nature Reserve. The particularity of this project was that the building had to blend in with its surroundings as seamlessly as possible. To achieve this, the project owner, the Parc national des Pyrénées, chose to clad all the foundations in local stone. In this case, the stone is granite, as we're in the Néouvielle granite massif. The stone was quarried locally near the site. Both for perfect environmental integration and also for the carbon footprint aspect. It was simply mortared in place with sand and cement by our masons. Something simple and traditional.

Integrating the brand Esprit parc nationalbrand was a way of associating ourselves with the values of the National Park: respect for the environment, respect for tradition and traditional architecture. It's also a way of promoting and enhancing our craftsmen's know-how.

What I particularly like and love about my job is, of course, the fact that I get to build structures that will stand the test of time and their environment. And trying to do this as well as possible, using quality, local materials.