A landscape incorporating the contemporary architectural ensemble into its natural environment

Perched in the hills above Geneva and overlooking Lake Geneva, two public housing residential buildings have been built in the clearing of what was once a wooded park. A site-wide, cohesive landscape deftly weaves the architecture into the surrounding environment, even in this aboveground setting. Continuous pathways connect the area to the larger neighborhood. A miniature forest stretches through the linear courtyard, framed by the new residential buildings. Fertile soil is gathered into mounds around 1 meter high. The resulting gently sloping surface can now sustain the newly planted birch and European hornbeam trees. The forest floor is blanketed with low-growing perennials and groundcover plants. The contrast between the mature trees surrounding the site and the vibrant saplings at its center creates an interplay of scale, density, and composition that both distinguishes and enhances this suspended garden. Scaling volumes and ecosystems cultivates a space that blurs the lines between existing and new, between nature and designed landscape.