This new development is built on an old industrial site which used to be a haven for wild vegetation. Some of
the plants came from South America, carried accidentally by ships and merchandise, fig trees and pampas
grasses. A whole life that disappears as the city builds on itself.
As part of this redevelopment, we were asked to look at an unclear area comprising of a series of residual spaces.
We proposed to unify these spaces with the creation of a parterre continuing across the different areas, carrying
through the road, the pavement, etc. Parterres were used in XVII century gardens as an aesthetization and a
demonstration of the control of man over nature, working as a presentation of the mansion.
Contrary to the traditional box hedge parterre, this one is made of reservations in the ground surfaces to allow the
urban vegetation to thrive in this controlled pattern, unifying all these left over spaces and bringing back some of the ruderal plants.
Grants Associates Landscape architects
Edward Cullinan architects