An ambition renaturation on a slab, respecting the historiacal traces

The Esplanade de la Défense is both a landscape figure and a major public space of metropolitan scale. It is located in the extension of an axis materialized during the 17th century by Le Nôtre.

The 8 km long royal axis extended from the center of Paris to its western periphery, connecting over the years the emblematic places of the capital (the Louvre Palace, Carrousel Arch, the Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysées, Etoile and the Pont de Neuilly). In the middle of the 20th century, it finally crossed the new business district of La Défense, inscribing its immense slab and its Arch in the geography of Paris.

When the modernist landscape designer Dan Kiley has designed this esplanade in the 1970s, he has formally inscribed it in a tradition, closely linked to the art of French classical gardens. A tradition which he has proposed a modern and powerful reinterpretation. The Esplanade reaffirms the metropolitan axis by updating a vocabulary neglected by French and European landscape architects. Above all, the role of vegetation has reappeared as a tool to enhance and contextualize the urban project on a very large scale.  .

A lawn has been laid in the perspective. This plant base is subdivided into small landscaped areas bordered by transverse shrub hedges and flowerbeds. Each patch of lawn or stabilised surface is used for recreational activities.

The distribution and palettes of the plantings have been developed in close collaboration with ecologists in order to respond to exposure conditions (wind, sunshine), water constraints and soil thickness. These vary according to the load-bearing capacity of the slab, and contribute to the design of the planted areas. Beyond their ornamental character, these teeming pockets make up a collection of miniaturised ecosystems.

On either side of the lawn, the existing rows of plane trees have been preserved. The shaded undergrowth is organised in line with the central space, housing a series of stabilised plots embellished with specific street furniture. The naturalist maintenance of the tree and shrub strata creates a free-form appearance that breaks the rigour of the layout.

The topography has been simplified in order to re-establish the legibility and unity of the site. This levelling takes into account the constraints linked to the structure of the deck and makes it possible to increase the thickness of soil available for planting.

A fountain system brings the park to life and refreshes it in summer. Upstream of the various landscaped sequences, transverse water features are positioned at each landing. They are linked by discreet canals that run alongside the pedestrian walkways. This irrigation system is inspired by Dan Kiley's projects and places the park in line with the water features that punctuate La Défense.