A mosaic of heritage-conscious landscapes

The Hôtel-Dieu, a former hospital in Bourg-en-Bresse, is teeming with deep historical and botanical significance: it fits seamlessly into the heritage trail connecting the city center to the Royal Monastery of Brou. The wide variety of environments that make up this site provide the ideal canvas for creating a range of different landscapes. Two complementary landscape compositions emerge: one shaped by the historical layouts centered around the architecture, set in the northern part of the site; the other wilder, unfurling throughout the southern part of the site and along the banks of the Canal de la Reyssouze canal. In each of these spaces, extraordinary existing trees long predate our work. This tree layer is expanded and more species planted, cultivating a vibrant, lush, and richly varied abundance of greenery. Yet among these distinct planting compositions, botanical similarities and complementary connections emerge, anchoring the site in a single cohesive landscape that stretches from the Parc des Baudières park at the eastern end, to the garden of the Royal Monastery of Brou at the southern end. Over time, ecological coherence will deepen site-wide, flourishing with the help of sustainable management practices and succession planting.