A park honoring existing trees and structural waterways, created alongside Sarcelles residents

Our work in this park and the Cèdre Bleu site is grounded in the continuing history and poetic nature of these places, drawing inspiration from the “city-park” concept coined by Philippe Panerai in his 1997 study on Sarcelles. Once the meeting point between cityscape and countryside, the former Cèdre Bleu wooded park and the meadow of the Plaine de Chauffour plain are part of a vast, city-wide landscape network.

Nestled along a high railroad embankment and encircled with walls and fences, the project site encompasses diverse environments of varying sizes and landscape systems. Buildings are constructed along the edges of this 4.3-hectare public park. The park is set at the heart of the valley, shaped by a network of greenery. Uninterrupted swaths of trees and structural waterways provide the foundational framework for the development and layout of site constructions. The recreational and landscaped park edges, along with buildings and lively plazas, connect the park with the surrounding city.

A vast 1.5-hectare meadow, dotted with groves of existing and newly planted ornamental trees, inhabits the middle of the park. This free-form, expansive grassy area houses varied and ever-changing activities.

Four complementary landscape systems form the site’s tree species composition. Riparian zones flourish in the valleys, along the waterways (the Petit Rosne and Marlière streams). Forest groves stand among the hilltops of the park. The dense trees create a plant screen, minimizing visual impact and noise pollution from the adjacent railroad. Conservation orchards and hedgerows span the Plaine de Chauffour plain and the hilltops of the park. Majestic trees dot the entire site. Planted in groves or standing alone, these mighty trees underscore the arboretum-like character of the park.

The Petit Rosne and Marlière streams are rewilded, their beds widened and banks transformed into gentle and irregular slopes. The Plaine de Chauffour plain is graded to create a water basin and adjoining wetland zone. This new aquatic environment aids in site-wide runoff collection and flood management, all while forming a nature and bird reserve.

The valley is key to enhancing the architecture of the park edges, as the constructions concentrated along the hilltops boast sweeping views over the valley and out to the wooded horizon in the distance.