Parc Agricole de Vernand

Special Jury Prize, Grand French National Award of Landscape Architecture 2016

The Vernand Agricultural Park is a landscape project concerning a cattle farm located North of the Massif Central in France. This 90-hectare farm has been committing in organic farming and direct selling for more than 25 years.

Initiated in 2005 and affirmed as a long process accompanying the agricultural cycles, this project consists at this scale to propose new forms of landscapes both nourishing, environmental and shared, within societies become predominantly urban.

For example, it led to a complete rethinking of the cropping space by designing a system of very fine cultivated strips perpendicular to the slope in order to limit erosion. These strips are punctually separated from new paths useful for agricultural circulation. At the same time, they are connected to the public hiking network adjacent.

Other spaces have been modified to create new types of pre-woods or grazed parks.

Finally, since 2008, an association has been developing around this place to carry a cultural project to create new forms of representation and sharing of agricultural space.

This approach has succeeded in proving that we can “make landscape” while seeking an agricultural performance.

Authors: FABRIQUES Architectures Paysages, Rémi et Pierre JANIN/Association Polyculture/EARL de Vernand
Photo Credit: Photos by FABRIQUES Architectures Paysages, Rémi et Pierre JANIN/Association Polyculture/EARL de Vernand
Country: France