The best memory of Covid

For SEMPERVIRENS LANDSCAPERS, navigating Covid hasn't always been easy, but the highlight was definitely the competition for the construction of the Cognac 4 Elements Park. We'd almost forgotten that you could have so much fun doing a competition. The funniest part was when the project manager asked us to laugh less loudly after the oral exam...

Above all, it is one of the most beautiful parks designed by Frédéric-Charles AILLET and his Sempervirens team: The park reflects the four elements that create Cognac: Earth, Rock, Water, and Fire. But how can you bring fire to life in a garden? It's impossible!

Earth and rock: The gardens evoke the geology of the six terroirs of Cognac. Along the Charente, a series of planted terraces parallel to the river incorporates stages to host concerts during the Cognac Jazz Festival, as well as more intimate spaces in the heart of this garden opening onto the river. In this open space, stages-lounges showcase the different terroirs of Cognac, from Bois Ordinaires to Grande Champagne. The six pedo-geological facies and their horizons are playfully recreated in earth concrete to create landscaped lounges with limestone monolith seats.

Water: The primary landscape of the banks of the Charente River is reintroduced to the site. Landscaped pools—water mirrors dotted with alders and reeds—integrate the building into the heart of its site. Level settings create numerous reflection effects depending on the viewpoint.

Fire: The sun's path is reflected in the pools on the facades. The water features are positioned to create a shimmer on the limestone facades and ceilings inside the building. This effect symbolizes the fire that distills the elixir of Cognac. On sunny days, the effect continues from morning to sunset, with hues and effects that vary depending on the light and the ripples in the water.

Tree planting in Joualle and other ancestral know-how are being restored, such as the planting of companion plants that naturally repel or collect predators of the vine. This viticultural agroforestry project is being developed with winegrowers and BNIC experts. Its goal is to improve plant and animal biodiversity, soil quality, and water retention for crops, while enhancing the aesthetics of the estates.

The origins:

The vine cultivated today has its wild origins in Vitis vinifera sylvestris, a vine more commonly known as the woodland vine. This wild vine thrives in a complex forest ecosystem. Its natural habitat has often been described as forest edges and clearings, as well as in riparian forests.

Ancient cultivation techniques:

It was during Antiquity that people began to cultivate vines, drawing inspiration from their natural development.

During the Middle Ages, and especially from the 17th to the 19th century, this plant association between tree and vine is also described in more northern areas.

We used different techniques such as:

- Arbustra (a technique which consisted of attaching the vine shoots to the branches of olive trees cut for this purpose and the ground was occupied by cereal crops).

- in Hautains or even in Italy the Piantatas (techniques according to which a tree also serves as a support for the vine).

- Joualles in the southwest of France (a technique combining vines growing on fruit trees and several other intercrops grown between the rows of trees on the same plot) Joualles were often a transitional system between a vineyard and an orchard.

- or even the Oullières in Provence (space left between the rows of vines and used for other crops).

Wilmotte & Associates 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 South-West (VSO) VPEAS BTP Consultants LASA COORPIBAT Thomas Robert Bank of the Territories, Crédit Agricole Charente-Périgord, Crédit Agricole Charente-Maritime Deux-Sèvres Crédit Mutuel Crédit Mutuel of the South-West Savings Bank