The three branches of the high speed TGV Méditerranée line link up atop the Angles massif, near Avignon. A double, white concrete viaduct soars fifty meters above the Rhône before coming down in the Courtine plains, where the Rhône and Durance rivers converge. Landscapes made to accompany such infrastructure projects attempt in general to preserve the already existing landscape by disguising the magnitude of the constructed work. In contrast, we believe that in terms of scale, infrastructure and large landscapes are comparable and complementary.

Our proposal sought to tailor the construction site to the lines of landscape revealed by aerial photographs. Whether a question of creating clearings, of shifting land, or of excavations, each intervention takes into account the already existing topography and its alignments. The possible scars inflicted on the Mediterranean scrubland become less damaging, and once the vegetation is reintroduced and established, each plot of land recovers its place like pieces in a puzzle. Poplar and willow trees are thickly planted along the banks, bringing into relief the natural character of the site, the vestiges of the ancient meanderings of the rivers.

On the other side of the Rhône, the new dimensions prompt a rereading of the agricultural traces in the landscape surrounding the Avignon train station. The reinterpretation of the old windbreak hedges creates a structure to the landscape, a preliminary context from which urban development can proceed in the Courtine neighborhood.