{"id":141063,"date":"2022-11-02T08:21:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T06:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geniusloci.com\/a-propos\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T10:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:43:21","slug":"genius-loci-our-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/geniusloci.com\/en\/genius-loci-our-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Our story"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row row_height_percent=&#8221;0&#8243; override_padding=&#8221;yes&#8221; h_padding=&#8221;2&#8243; top_padding=&#8221;3&#8243; bottom_padding=&#8221;3&#8243; overlay_alpha=&#8221;50&#8243; gutter_size=&#8221;3&#8243; column_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; shift_y=&#8221;0&#8243; z_index=&#8221;0&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;147208&#8243;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_single_image media=&#8221;141064&#8243; media_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; shape=&#8221;img-round&#8221; radius=&#8221;std&#8221; advanced=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_items=&#8221;media|original,title&#8221; media_overlay_opacity=&#8221;50&#8243; media_overlay_anim=&#8221;no&#8221; media_text_visible=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_text_anim=&#8221;no&#8221; media_image_anim=&#8221;no&#8221; media_h_align=&#8221;right&#8221; media_v_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; media_padding=&#8221;2&#8243; media_title_dimension=&#8221;h6&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;739131&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][uncode_block id=&#8221;3374&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=&#8221;0&#8243; override_padding=&#8221;yes&#8221; h_padding=&#8221;2&#8243; top_padding=&#8221;0&#8243; bottom_padding=&#8221;4&#8243; overlay_alpha=&#8221;50&#8243; gutter_size=&#8221;3&#8243; column_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; shift_y=&#8221;0&#8243; z_index=&#8221;0&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;936086&#8243;][vc_column column_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; gutter_size=&#8221;3&#8243; overlay_alpha=&#8221;50&#8243; shift_x=&#8221;0&#8243; shift_y=&#8221;0&#8243; shift_y_down=&#8221;0&#8243; z_index=&#8221;0&#8243; medium_width=&#8221;0&#8243; mobile_width=&#8221;0&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;956437&#8243;][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=&#8221;h3&#8243; text_size=&#8221;h3&#8243; text_height=&#8221;fontheight-145063&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;207658&#8243;]Genius Loci, or how to reinvent hyperlocal heritage enhancement.[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;168651&#8243;]In fact, the idea was born ten years ago, on a walk, somewhere around Fribourg in Switzerland<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Along the way, we came across an old church, half in ruins, slowly being swallowed by vegetation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The place was incredible<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Steph<\/strong>: Did you see that? Where are we?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Egl\u00e9<\/strong>: (Checking Google Maps) Um\u2026 in the middle of nowhere\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Steph<\/strong>: What&#8217;s this place called?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Egl\u00e9<\/strong>: Nothing written\u2026 not even a sign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">That same day, we kept coming across amazing places: a huge oak tree, a mysterious rock split in two, a forgotten medieval tower, an Art Deco manor, a lonely romantic bench\u2026 All these places felt special. They had secrets and stories, but no one to tell them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">No sign<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">So we had the BIG IDEA: indestructible physical medals, hidden in the middle of nowhere, opening onto a digital space with rich, authentic, emotional, fun content you simply cannot find anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For us, it&#8217;s <strong>THE best solution<\/strong> to showcase the millions of places still hidden around the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Our dream is simply that in a few years&#8217; time, we might wander at random into a major European city and discover our medals down some mysterious alley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h=&#8221;2&#8243;][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_use_pixel=&#8221;yes&#8221; gutter_size=&#8221;3&#8243; overlay_alpha=&#8221;50&#8243; shift_x=&#8221;0&#8243; shift_y=&#8221;0&#8243; shift_y_down=&#8221;0&#8243; z_index=&#8221;0&#8243; medium_width=&#8221;0&#8243; mobile_width=&#8221;0&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;125047&#8243; column_width_pixel=&#8221;550&#8243;][vc_button border_animation=&#8221;btn-ripple-out&#8221; wide=&#8221;yes&#8221; border_width=&#8221;0&#8243; scale_mobile=&#8221;no&#8221; link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dropbox.com%2Fsh%2F4r2jzcx8marxhl6%2FAADrFK_bQ8ST6TV4xIvLdDcPa%3Fdl%3D0|title:Download%20our%20Press%20Kit|target:_blank&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;395763&#8243;]Download our press kit[\/vc_button][vc_button border_animation=&#8221;btn-ripple-out&#8221; wide=&#8221;yes&#8221; border_width=&#8221;0&#8243; scale_mobile=&#8221;no&#8221; link=&#8221;url:mailto%3Ahello%40geniusloci.com%3Fsubject%3DInformations%20Genius%20Loci&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;548816&#8243;]Contact us[\/vc_button][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][uncode_block id=&#8221;2994&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row row_height_percent=&#8221;0&#8243; override_padding=&#8221;yes&#8221; h_padding=&#8221;2&#8243; top_padding=&#8221;3&#8243; bottom_padding=&#8221;3&#8243; overlay_alpha=&#8221;50&#8243; gutter_size=&#8221;3&#8243; column_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; shift_y=&#8221;0&#8243; z_index=&#8221;0&#8243; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;147208&#8243;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_single_image media=&#8221;141064&#8243; media_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; shape=&#8221;img-round&#8221; radius=&#8221;std&#8221; advanced=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_items=&#8221;media|original,title&#8221; media_overlay_opacity=&#8221;50&#8243; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":141064,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-141063","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Genius Loci story: how the heritage medal idea was born<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Genius Loci story: a walk near Fribourg, a ruined church, and the big idea of physical medals opening onto a digital space to reveal a place&#039;s secrets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/geniusloci.com\/en\/genius-loci-our-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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