Charance Terrace Garden in Gap

Bringing together the spontaneous vegetation arranged on terraces and botanical roses, this garden offers a contemporary reading of the idea of a collection reconstructed in the identity of a territory.

Exceptional geography, site’s memory expressed within the terraces’ structures and water sceneries led us to define two guiding lines:

• Express the transition between the beech grove and the meadow using the vegetation usually linked to beeches (holly, box, daphne) on the successive terraces from the tree-planted strata to the herbaceous one, and strengthen the vocabulary linked to the water and the topography.

• Lay out the roses' collection offering different flower shapes within each terrace.

The project is thus based upon three main axis:

• The architectural axis extends that of the castle and crosses railings and staircases. The slope's perpendicular walls maintain the idea of enclosure.

• The water axis, real or virtual, expresses possible uses and link to topography. The existing springs are retained along with their rockeries in the center. Clipped beeches clumps express the old mills' row along the edges.

• The terraces' axis, perpendicular to the castle's axis, reveals the slope. A course of parallel lines and counter-planted walls emphasizes this frame.

If you want to connect with the international website 'landzine.com' and learn more about this project:

http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2013/06/charance-terrace-garden-by-atelier-des-paysages-bruel-delmar/

Sponsor
City of GAP
Situation
Domaine de Charance, Gap - 44°34’34.91’’N / 6°3’11.87’’E
Budget / Area
610 000 € / 9 000 m2
Date
1998 - 2000
Award
Listed as an Historic Monument 1987 – Awarded "Outstanding Gardens" label from the Ministry of Culture in 2005