Bottière Chênaie

designed by Atelier des paysages Bruel-Delmar /

Location: France / Nantes / Type: Flood Resilience / Parks / Water features / Built: 2012 /
Show on Google Maps / Published on September 24, 2012

The Bottière Chênaie project was rooted in the site history and geography. A history marked by the ground occupation, a geological past that had left layers of confined ground-water, allowing boreholds and human occupation that took advantage of this situation to introduce market gardening parcels at the town entrance. Our work looks to express these attributes in order to anchor the project in the site, to position it as a single place. The park and the public spaces are in keeping with the framework of parcels from the past agricultural occupation. In a spirit of sedimentation, the new script is traced over the lines of the existing walls.

The park, facing South-East North-West, asserts the new link between the old Doulon neighborhoods and Bottière, while escorting the new mall. An urban park that goes hand in hand with and balances the new densities, its mainly indigenous vegetation will contribute to the expression of a nature regained. The wish to uncover the Gohards brook comes from wanting to express the memory of these places and in particular of their geography. It becomes the heart of the park and the collection point for the new neighborhood’s rainwater, which makes its way here, via channels and canals. There are numerous traces of Man’s understanding of the site in the past. Among them, several reservoirs that stocked water for watering, linked to wells remain and form part of the identity of the place. In addition to preserving and restoring of some of them, we plan to use wind energy to revitalize the provision of water for the future allotments and the park.

Landscape architecture: Atelier des paysages Bruel-Delmar (contact@brueldelmar.fr)
Location: Nantes, Loire Atlantique (44), France.
Commissioned by: Nantes AmÈnagement
Area: 30 ha (public spaces design of Development Zone)
Cost: 28 MÄ
Design & Implementation period: 2008-2015
status : Ecological District Prize 2009; Urban Art Robert Auzelle Prize 2011; Under construction
Photos & text : Atelier de paysages Bruel-Delmar

Project Team :
Atelier de Paysage Bruel-Delmar – urban planners & landscape architects
J.P. Pranlas Descours – architect & urban planner
Confluence Ècologie hydrolique, Sce VRD – Roads system and urban public utilities