Page 56 - Designing Ways 256

ON THE
TERRACE

From a distance, Foret finie, espace
infini?, takes on the appearance of a pile
of sawn wood that a carpenter might have
placed there while waiting for his next
project. This defined form covered with a
plastic sheeting waits in the summer heat.
Rooted in the middle of a path crossing
the boreal forest, the installation however
obstructs the passage. Without being able
to go around it, is it possible to cross it, to
face it seems inevitable.
By approaching, a section of the
The sunflowers are grown upsidedown The intention, behind this assembly tarpaulin is unhooked, and you are
but will bend up as they grow towards of surfaces, is to reveal the richness of invited to slip into it. Inside, a structure
the sun, defying gravity. Visitors can a whole environment, catalyzing other made of finely assembled wooden slats
visit the installation numerous times forms of interactions for various living reveals a path modulated by a play of
to experience how adaptable plants are beings. Dreamlike and supporting solids and voids. What are all these
to their circumstances: phototropically, functions, this work influences the climate cleverly arranged slats and why do they
gravitropically, and heliotropically. While by softening the summer heat with its seek to reach the infinite? Aren’t they
the future is uncertain, Gravity Field shades and its flora. Les huit collines constrained by this tarpaulin that can be
spotlights the powerful resilience of thus elaborate a landscape charged with seen from the outside? Looking up at the
nature and sees optimism in the ability meaning that never ceases to evolve both sky, a brief glance at the tall trees suggests
of plants, and all organisms, to adapt and by its composition and by the cycles of life a final thought: if the space we build
thrive. that it shelters. emanates from a world of finite resources
Theodore Hoerr is a landscape architect, Born in Bonn, Germany, Noel Picaper and therefore cannot be infinite, could
Founding Principal of Terrain Work, lives and works in Paris. Since September this skillfully sculpted forest able to be?
Kelly Watters is a landscape designer, 2021, he has been teaching at the School Antonin Boulanger Cartier is an
Associate of Terrain Work and Rebecca of Architecture in Clermont-Ferrand. On architectural intern at Bourgeois
Shen is a designer intern. Terrain Work the border between architecture, art and Lechasseur Architectes. He is also a
is an international landscape architecture, biology, Noel Picaper's creations paint candidate for the master's degree in
urban design and public art studio in New a picture of a world made of playful and architectural sciences within the Habiter
York City that is known for its creativity dreamlike landscapes, where humans and le Nord quebecois partnership at
and design innovation. their natural environment cohabit in new Universite Laval.
Terrain Work’s landscapes and urban ways. After working for Junya Ishigami Melaine Niget is an urban designer and
strategies consider how landscape’s innate in Japan, in 2019 he created Onomiau, architectural intern at Groupe A / Annexe
ability to change create new emergent an architecture and design collective U. The versatility of his training in
forms and experiences that synthesize interested in experimental spaces and architecture and urban design has led him
culture, nature, and the built environment. architectural fictions. Onomiau stands for to become involved in several research
They approach each project with a "office for nomadic architecture". groups at the Ecole d’architecture of the
curiosity and collaborative spirit born FORÊT FINIE, ESPACE INFINI? Universite Laval. dw
out of the belief that landscapes should by Antonin Boulanger Cartier, Pierre-
perform as both cultural provocateur and Olivier Demeule, Melaine Niget, Quebec www.festivalinternationaldejardins.com
ecological system.
LES HUIT COLLINES by ONOMIAU
[Noel Picaper], Levallois-Perret, France
Conceived as evolving structures, those
eight hills imagine biological spatialities.
Through inanimate and organic materials,
they create life effects. A hilly landscape
then appears, capable of offering various
experiences to humans as well as to
nonhumans (birds in particular). Serving
as a seating area, a micro-garden, a
contemplative space and an ecological
reservoir, this project offers visitors a
multitude of spatial sequences to practice,
seating, hiding places and amphitheatre
and more.

56 Issue 256 • dw