Architect

BASE landscape designer mandatory + Champalbert

Type of Area

Medium-sized river with artificial banks

Land/water interaction

Boardwalk
Vegetated bank
Decking

Built Environment Types

Moderately built
Moderate green

Scale of Impact

Block
District/Neighbourhood
City

Intervention Scale (Spatial)

Linear development – multiple interventions

Project Types

Riverfront development
Public space regeneration
Outdoor recreation

Urban/ Rural

Sub-urban area

Visibility and Openness

Fully enclosed
Fully contained view

Bringing people back to the river.

The city of Perreux-sur-Marne has re-established the relationship to its river, considering it as one of the main features of the city’s attention in terms of improving its environmental qualities to tackle, while combining that with the desire of the community to bring locals and visitors back to the banks of the Marne. The project, initiated by the city, was planned and built by BASE landscape designers + Champalbert hydrologic engineering in 2013. It was designed with an extended boardwalk to allow different uses and crossings on a quite limited site. It is connected by a sequence of meeting places equipped with pontoons and benches along the Marne and includes a playful garden in the centre.

Initially a holiday resort, Perreux became a mid-size city at the beginning of the 20th century, welcoming crowds of day-trippers from Paris to appreciate the bucolic setting of the banks of the Marne. Up to the eighteenth century, small houses were built on the slope of the undeveloped banks. Only a few laundry boats, public baths or fishing pontoons were installed, but the channelling of the watercourse to facilitate trade traffic led to the conversion of the riverbanks to hard surfaces.

The new appearance of the place was reinforced by emphasising the bucolic setting of the riverbanks. The design thus incorporated the atmosphere of a grove. Due to the almost village-like character of the neighbouring settlement, accessibility was enhanced for pedestrians and light traffic. The pathway is not immediately noticed when entering the area and materials used fit the ambience of the surrounding. This approach also allows a layering of the vegetation by combining contemporary urban planting practices with sustainable water ecology.

The project has brought back the people, flora and fauna to the banks of the river. The water and urban edges have been softened by converting former concrete flood defences into vegetated engineered slopes. This has been achieved by removing the masonry blocks and accepting seasonal flooding to widen the variety of different environments. People are attracted to the water when the riverbanks become accessible especially when new aquatic and terrestrial plants, different surfaces, lighting and furniture were added to allow people to spend time near the water. The types of seating provided are made of wood and constructed for different user needs; it offers an out-door gym and children play areas and can be accessed from the river by the jetty.