An urban room in the heart of an old villa district: creating a natural setting in an urban environment

The particularity of this plot is to be located between two urban fabrics. Major roads are nearby, but none cross the land. The location in the middle of a neighborhood of villas reinforces the impression of being in a pocket of greenery.

Access to the heart of the block is via an old mansion which has been preserved. It is adjoined by a car park and a meadow area with plantations making up a reception area. The rest of the plot is only served by winding pedestrian paths.

On the outskirts, certain existing trees have been preserved and reinforced by the planting of shrubs, shrubs and meadows, creating a rural shrub belt. The heart is more structured with lawns, ginkgo trees and trimmed beech hedges. We also worked with trees with a fastigiate habit to protect the homes from those facing them.

Our bias for this residential area is to restore a very natural atmosphere, to make people forget the presence of the underground car park. We took the opposite approach to the existing project by increasing pedestrian access and eliminating emergency traffic. Outside the plot, the extensive plant palette mainly offers native species. The complexity of this project lies in the heart of the block where it was necessary to recreate vegetation with a rural atmosphere, despite the constraints of planting on slabs.  

On a complex project like this, our role as landscape architect is also to ensure the management of the tree heritage. When we took over the project, the main challenge was to propose species that could be technically integrated into the project in terms of structure and which respected the compensatory amounts required by the canton of Geneva. A subtle balancing act between administration, engineering and aesthetics.

Our greatest success on this project? Relaunch a stalled project by offering a fresh perspective. One of the reasons why we were mandated directly by the project owner is our good understanding with the companies. As are our diplomatic and negotiation skills. It is the human qualities of the Arfolia office that allow us to navigate this type of complex mission with confidence.

Since the project was delivered, the vegetation has grown very well and offers the inhabitants of this residential area a natural setting in the city. Mission accomplished !

While working on this project with the landscapers, we discovered that the tree that has given its name to the neighborhood for over 30 years is actually not a redwood, but a Calocedrus!