The best memory of the Covid

For SEMPERVIRENS LANDSCAPERS the crossing of the Covid has not always been easy but the most beautiful moment was the competition for the construction of the park of the 4 elements of Cognac. We had almost forgotten that we could have so much fun doing a contest. The funniest thing was when the project manager came to ask us to laugh less loudly after the oral...

It is above all one of the most beautiful parks designed by Frédéric-Charles AILLET and his Sempervirens team: The park declines the 4 elements that make it possible to create Cognac: Earth, Rock, Water and Fire. But how to materialize fire in a garden… It's impossible!

Earth and rock: The gardens evoke the geology of the 6 terroirs of Cognac. Along the Charente, a set of vegetated terraces parallel to the river integrates stages to host concerts during the Cognac Jazz Festival but also more intimate spaces in the heart of this garden open to the river. In this open place, stages-lounges decline the different terroirs of Cognac from Bois Ordinaires to Grande Champagne. The six pedo-geological facies and their horizons are reconstituted in a playful way in earth concrete to create landscaped rooms with foundations in limestone monoliths.

Water: The primary landscape of the banks of the Charente is relocated to the site. Landscaped basins - water mirrors dotted with alders and reeds integrate the building into the heart of its site. Games of levels create many effects of reflections according to the points of view.

Fire: The course of the sun is reflected in the basins on the facades. The water features are positioned to create a shimmer on the limestone facades and on the ceilings inside the building. This effect symbolizes the fire that distils the elixir of Cognac. During sunny days, the effect is available from morning to sunset with hues and effects that vary according to the light and the ripples of the water.

Wilmotte & Associés Architects Borina Andrieu Alejo Paillard Gwen Marien REDMAN Nicolas Ponson Nina Schoenmuller Aurélien Beau Christophe Veral Raphaël Delpech Violaine Chénel Olivier HUBERT Edeis Olivier THIBAULT A40 Architects SEMPERVIRENS LANDSCAPERS Vizea Sud-Ouest (VSO) VPEAS BTP Consultants LASA COORPIBAT Thomas Robert Banque des Territoires, Crédit Agricole Charente-Périgord, Crédit Agricole Charente-Maritime Deux-Sèvres Crédit Mutuel Crédit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest Caisse d'Epargne