Positioned on top of the Cap d'Ail hill, the Villa Cactus Dore benefits from an exceptional view of the Monegasque coastline. Which qualities should be given to its garden, restricted by the small dimensions of its plot of land and the strong topographical presence? Our proposal does not fall within the tradition of exotic gardens. The garden is rather conceived of as a miniaturization of the surrounding Mediterranean scrubland. Paths are created within and through the extremely abundant setting. This immersion circumvents the restrictions posed by the plot of land.

The range of plants used is scrupulously faithful to the Mediterranean setting. However, familiar though the landscape is, it is not merely a cross-section simply deposited onto the plot. Importing identically, as an extreme concentration of these plants within the small space available, would be aesthetically unbearable. Maintaining the spatial coherence of the living environment, along with its already attained degree of development, led us away from such a gratuitous approach. Our proposal is based above all on a play with the material at hand, reinterpreting it, a process from which we constitute a landscape with the correct scale.

The pathways, composed out of hand-crafted stones, are here again the result of a transposition. Modeled after the still existing Roman roads in the nearby scrubland, they form a kind of riprap. In addition to their function as comfortable walking paths, they take on an essential role in the management of stormwater. Their construction is specifically conceived with cavities and gaps for the sufficient retention of water, before being carried away by gravity.

This transposition of the Mediterranean setting, made possible by exceptional resources, constitutes an exemplary prototype for Monaco's offshore extension project, the new Anse du Portier district, which we are developing in conjunction with Renzo Piano.