The Poste Immo project follows on the one hand an urban renewal process, and on the other hand a social policy for housing and the development of public services. The project thus restructures, in the heart of the dense urban area, a 2188m² site which is currently poorly qualified and has high building potential.
At the heart of the Plaine du Var, the MIN project is at the center of an ecological, architectural and landscape transversality. It is as much about considering the building in a dialectical relationship with its near and far environment as in its interaction with its environment, the preservation of ecological corridors in place (green and blue grid) in order to support the dynamic of landscape recomposition. In this way, the Ecotoit, which resonates with the valley landscape, constitutes a seat for plant biodiversity and constitutes the fifth facade of the project.
As a belvedere overlooking the Mediterranean, the villa is part of the landscape unit of Villefranche harbor in the center of an exceptional landscape. The project concerns the renovation of the property and the recreation of a garden.
Between 1984 and 1999, several studies were carried out by the Faragou Agency in the territory of Mandelieu. They reflect various scales of intervention such as the large territory, the neighborhood, the urban operation and the landscaping in order to enhance and reposition the territory of Mandelieu-la-Napoule on the Côte-d´Azur.
Whatever the scale of a site, Agence Faragou approaches a project in the same way : feeling on site the possibilities of the site, then placing it in the context of its heritage, both cultural and natural, before proposing a complete project. This is exactly how the team from the architectural and landscape agency developed its working method for the Automobile Club garden in Monaco.
This patio garden opening onto the restaurant of the prestigious Automobile Club is also the scene of events, especially for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. The Monegasque garden, a real living space for Automobile-Club customers, is a « living allegory of the automobile and travel ». In fact, a play of superimpositions and silhouettes, a kind of assembly parts and mechanical structures, let a vertical landscape shine through through a play of double decor.
The walls have been replaced with metal panels cut into shapes reminiscent of auto parts ; here we recognize a suspension, there a clutch disc. The metal is Corten steel which rusts and then does not deteriorate. Each panel has been drawn to scale to organize the play of depths and the sequence, because it is a continuous sculpture that can be visited and changes constantly depending on the light.
With this project, the Faragou Agency has found an ingenious trick to combine architecture, sculpture and garden in the same space. The achievement is a « combination of plant architectures of trunks and foliage put in tension by the lines and curves of the metal ». The design here is certainly the most original, the realization is meticulous and the result is an adventure that goes far beyond a simple restaurant decor.
To learn more about the project, see the Jardin Automobile Club project sheet.
In the vegetable garden of a villa on the heights of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, there is a very original irrigation system. Centerpiece ‘a garden, the” old-fashioned “watering system, made up of hammers, allows part of the garden to be irrigated through a canelet of water located upstream of the planted areas. The hydraulic system includes a supply basin, a wash house with its buffer tank and a network of canals. The whole is managed by gravity. The basin supplies the buffer tank of the wash house. The water level of the washhouse and its buffer tank is set to the same altimetry by a float valve. The channel buffer tank is buried. It is supplied by a pipeline pressurized by the wash house. A float valve closes the power supply. The level of closure takes into account the necessary water retention in the canals. When the hammers open, the level of the buried buffer tank is lowered, the level of the washhouse decreases in proportion to the strain on the canal. The reaction automatically leads to the opening of the float valve of the buffer tank of the wash house. The cascading water movement ensures the periodic renewal of the washhouse water.
To find out more about the Nourishing Garden, see the Nourishing Garden project sheet.
The Fernand Braudel Park development project, located on the Isthmus of Sablettes in La Seyne-sur-Mer, is part of the tourism enhancement of the area.
The site, which extends over more than 7 hectares, combines the desire to infuse an urban project and integrate exceptional plant elements which convert the site into a seaside resort. The realization of the landscaping takes shape between 2 lands and 2 seas and is accompanied by designer street furniture as well as a revaluation of the neighborhood through landscaping treatment.
Created specifically to harmonize with natural and seaside atmospheres, a line of simple furniture, inspired by elements of local culture (sailing, fishing, etc.) has been designed and produced in shipbuilding materials made to resist spray and UV : iroko wood, marine stainless steel, white lacquered steel with easy maintenance.
The furniture is also surrounded by landscaped signage, where a route has been marked out by signs for the public. The information takes into account the scales of the landscape, the micro-scale of a plant or a group of plants.
Finally, realistic sculptures on a macro scale of particular and striking elements of the landscape, flora and fauna were created as a nod to the memory, local flora and fauna.
To find out more about the project, see the Parc Fernand Braudel project sheet.
The public space construction project concerns the perimeter of the old center, and more particularly, the first 3 islets Riaux, Equerre and Saint-Louis. The definition and participation in the urban rehabilitation project concern the empty spaces of the city (streets, squares, etc.), urban animation (sculptures, historical markings) and the creation of specific urban furniture.
The Site is exceptional. The harbor is considered the most beautiful in Europe. The city has fewer attractions. Wedged between sea and mountain, Toulon has spread from east to west, according to the fortune of needs and means. The idea is to look at the heart of the city, seven hectares, by the Mediterranean sea, abandoned to their fate over the past four decades. To conduct the operation, the team of building owners and contractors believe that looking after the buildings will not be enough to recreate the essential : the identity of the neighborhood. This additionally requires the treatment of public spaces. The city of Toulon, whose architectural attractions are slim, is therefore today in an unprecedented situation: it is from its oldest district, so long and so cruelly neglected, that it can now expect an image of new brand of strong and enterprising city. Image conferred, not by the rehabilitation in itself, but by the purpose and the pretext that the talent of a Landscape Architect has dared to draw from it.
To find out more about the project, see the Old Center in Toulon project sheet.
The competition concerns the future Maison de l’Environnement in Valberg. The project combines the architecture with the remarkable landscape of the site in which the building is inserted. Focused on the theme of astronomy, the building represents the solar system and incorporates a planetarium.
This study affirms the desire to include the heart of the village in a new urban dynamic. The project must be conceived in the thickness defined by the public spaces, in order to create a new facade to the street, to connect the different functions and public spaces, and to highlight the openings on the wide landscape.
