INTECHMER - Conservatory of Arts and Crafts - Cherbourgs - with TITAN ArchitectesRESTORATION OF COLLIGNON BEACH - City of Cherbourg Landscaping agent
The landscaping project is part of the objective of achieving an exemplary development in terms of sustainable development which will contribute to the scientific influence of the INTECHMER National Institute for Marine Science and Technology. The primary landscape of the site transposes and integrates the functionality of the outdoor spaces into the native plant formations with a biomimetic spirit.
On the sea side, the white dune hosts an amphitheater protected from the wind and a rear coastal wetland characteristic of the Val de Saire which allows rainwater to be managed. The moors of gray dunes with gorse and anemomorphosed trees hide the car parks by protecting the site from the west and south-west winds. The only exception, in the centre, is a small naturalistic garden of coastal flora of the future world, a reminder of the scientific vocation of the place.
The marine garden of Intechmer is part of the new rationality of the project but also in the poetry of the site by magnifying the natural elements. First the wind by its vegetation and its anemomorphic volumetry (formed by the wind) then the water with a wetland whose level fluctuates according to showers and thunderstorms.
Biomimetic ecological transect:
In terms of the context of the project, a small residual dune sequence takes place between the eastern breakwater of the great harbor of Cherbourg and the site. The surrounding coast has been built up to the detriment of wild vegetation; of course to the west of the site with the port facilities but also to the east due to urbanization. It is interesting to take advantage of the project to restore the original transect from sea to land, in fact the rarity of this type of situation gives these ecosystems a very high botanical and ecological value. Through these halophilic formations (which like salt) which are defined by their remoteness or their proximity to the sea, salt and wind, we propose to integrate the equipment of the Institute.
The amphitheater of the white dune:
To the north-west of the site, in the extension of the dyke on a volume of pre-existing embankments, we propose to create a large dune "viewpoint" towards the sea, sheltered from the wind which allows courses and events to be held.
Thanks to the rubble generated by the project as a result of deconstruction, in a logic of economy of means, this development would limit the costly export of materials from the site.
More than 200 seats will be offered on the blue stones characteristic of Cherbourg's architecture and gardens. The semi-circular seating will focus on Cap Lévi and the red Fermanville lighthouse.
All around, large grasses typical of the dunes, beachgrass Amnophila arenaria and Elytrigia juncea are planted in 50 cm of shelly sand. This constitutes the first reference plant association which will be able to accommodate greater biodiversity over the years, such as Euphorbia paralias, the bluish sea panicauts Eryngim maritimum and the soldanelle bindweed with pink flowers Convolvulus soldanella.
The coastal rear wetland for water management:
Formerly the area was occupied by very slightly brackish ponds as evidenced by the map of the surroundings of Cherbourg by Jean Magin drawn up at the beginning of the 18th century. We observe on this particularly precise document a geomorphology of islands oriented East-West, in the direction of the prevailing winds.
We propose to manage most of the site's rainwater (approximately 300m3) in a basin that is always full of water and which restores the site's original ecology. The quantity of water to be treated is reduced thanks to numerous permeable coatings made of stabilized. A complex of gently sloping clay and geotextiles will allow the establishment of a water management zone with regulated flow. This body of water will also attract many birds to the site, such as the White Wagtail, the Whinchat, the Meadow Pipit, the Skylark, the Reed Bunting, the Reed Warbler, the Crested Lapwing , the Eurasian Curlew and in more shrubby areas will take place the Bittern, the Spotted Crake, the Montagu's Harrier, the Marsh Harrier, or the Bluethroat, which seek to establish their nests in plots with more or less humid dense vegetation.
In front of the institute will be open spaces that will require only very limited maintenance.
The gray dune and the anemomorphic forest fringe:
To protect the site from the winds, the western limit will be vegetated by a succession of dunes alternating the sandy front on the sea side - planted with marram grass - and the reverse side planted with sculptural shrubs such as gorse, dune willows, hawthorns , the wild plum trees which constitute deflectors sculpted by the storms.
A peripheral path will make it possible to carry out walking or running exercises on this linear. The current fence will be kept and fully integrated into this vegetation. As the journey progresses, the species evolve to begin to form small groves of Quercus robur oaks, also careened by sea spray.
The car parks are fully integrated into this vegetation, which completely hides the cars on the site. Parking spaces are distributed along the south and east lane. We propose to slightly reduce the current gauge of car parks present on the site insofar as the new car park at Colignon beach will be located adjacent to the main entrance to the south west of the site.
A bicycle parking lot has been created thanks to the reuse of the greenhouse, to the south of the site immediately after the southern parking lot. This volume contributes to attenuating the wind and comfort in the central space of the garden.
The garden of coastal flora of the future world:
Between the new and the old building there is a sheltered space which will create a meeting place for the students and another more intimate one for the teachers. In order to reinforce the sheltered character of the space, we propose the creation of an alcove planted on its periphery with coastal flora which can be enriched with seeds and seedlings brought back to the site by researchers and students who have traveled and study missions. Thanks to the hyperoceanic climate of Cherbourg which knows very little frost, it will also be possible to prefigure a garden adapted to climate change, prefiguring in a way a garden of the future. The purpose of this space is of course not to generate significant maintenance costs for the School but to allow, in a naturalistic spirit, botanists to leave a vegetal trace of their passage. The floor of the terrace could also be made of blue stone from Cherbourg, a nod to a garden of the 5 oceans. There is currently no botanical garden specializing in temperate boreal coastal flora, which could be one of the pride of the centre.
Floor coverings, project economy:
We propose to keep the South and East roads in the same location as well as the north-south axis in front of the building. This approach will make it possible to reuse the structures of the pavements and carry out a refurbishment while greatly reducing the cost of construction.
Qualitative circulation spaces such as the main access road and the forecourts will be made of qualitative concrete slabs whose surface could be qualified from time to time thanks to the footprints of seabirds.
The blue stone of Cherbourg from the garden could constitute the foundations and the ground of the gardens of the coastal flora and the foundations of the amphitheater.
The Fermanville granitic arena type stabilized coating will be used for walking areas and secondary paths in order to give the site great porosity.
Right to black: In an ecological spirit, the lit areas will be reduced to the main paths linking the entrance, the path linked to the south parking lots for people with reduced mobility, the north forecourt and the central space. Wildlife will not be disturbed by intrusive lighting.
Differentiated management of green spaces:
Currently the site is completely vegetated by a lawn which requires regular maintenance (about 10 mowings per year). We propose to relocate native plant formations that require no maintenance. The mowed surfaces will be very small and limited to a few areas at the level of the outdoor amphitheater in particular. The apparent luxuriance of the project will actually require quite minimal maintenance equivalent to that of natural areas open to the public.
Intechmer's exterior development project reflects the maritime vocation of the site. We propose a rational project integrating the savings of means. Basin spoil and demolition materials are reused to create landscaping.
This garden drawn by the wind by its specificity and its biomimetic design will contribute to the image, the influence of the center and to offer a unique pleasant setting to students and teaching staff.
Plant engineering technical notice:
Protocol for moving herbaceous and woody plants taken from nature to be replanted on the INTECHMER site in Cherbourg
Plants from nurseries do not have the genetic diversity of a natural formation. The subjects are made up of clones which makes them much more vulnerable to diseases. We propose to carry out the plantings of the project thanks to the realization of samples on changing sites like the zone constituted by the future parking lot in the south or on other sites with similar ecology that we have identified in agreement with their owners. Cultivation contracts with specific nurseries could complete this approach. The project could be a pilot site which could be associated with the conservatory of the coast or the botanical conservatory of Brest as well as the landscape department of the City of Cherbourg.