Clos du Pré and Champ Pinel housing estates – TRÉMÉREUC (Côtes-d’Armor)
RetourCompletion year 2011
Contracting Authority Municipality of Trémereuc
Mission Performing the finishing work on an estate formerly designed by Côtes-d’Armor civil engineering services with the provisional phase completed
Project Management Team Landscape architects and designers Laure Planchais (mandated agent), Consulting engineers SAFEGE, Light designers Coup d’Eclat
Surface area 3 hectares
Budget €122,000 exc. VAT
Ratio €23 exc. VAT per m²
The overall design of the estate and its 29 free batches (divided into 2 adjoining sectors) was inherited from a development scheme designed by the Côtes-d’Armor civil engineering services, where the provisional development phase has been completed, but not the definitive one on account of the Government pulling out of the project management. While there was little room for manoeuvre, there was enough to rethink the initially-suggested pedestrian/vehicle separation and to use a participative approach in choosing which plants would adorn each property. The project has created shared lanes in order to prevent any parking on the pavements, which were replaced with lengths of flowerbeds that blend the foreground into a consistent whole concealing the diverse private fences in the background. Residents were given a choice of 3 possible colours. Zones devoted to turning around and parking were shaped as small public squares treated with an earth and stone mix.
Feedback (last visit in 2016)
- Some of the perennial flowerbeds had difficulties surviving during the initial years, despite the fact that the range of varieties was rather well suited. For instance, the magnolias soulangeana have completely failed. Still, the landscaping has settled in in the end, especially the iris.
- The shared lane idea does not seem to be a problem, but the quality of the flowerbeds greatly depends on how much the residents are involved. Some have actually destroyed a few flowerbeds by doing some private landscaping and failing to restore them.