Ecoto(w)ne

Team Point of View

An Ecotone is a transition zone between two ecosystems. It describes the moving of edges in time and space. The edge, linear ecotone, becomes a transition point (and distance) between the city and the Deule River. It does not oppose the two elements but makes them complementary. The different thicknesses in place form the “déjà-là” and constitute many situations in our project. By a fine work on the edge (where the ecosystem is the richest between the plain and the forest), the thicknesses of embankment are transformed on sequences to become a linear park. We form the emptiness by characterizing the limits. It is a process-project in which the attention focused on the landscape allows to act like a lever on the different scales, from the neighbourhood to the Deule's embankments, and therefore, to the people: inhabitants to walkers, tourists to craftsmen, researchers to families.

Jury Point of View

The urban planning part of the project with its delicate insertions into the existing is convincing. With a good understanding of the urban scale, the proposal takes in the whole site including the embankments and introduces new activities in a non-invasive way. The process described is relevant as are the productive themes (arts and crafts and agriculture and permaculture making use of Euratechnology know-how).