Ilex paysage urbanisme

Feyssine Park

The 45 hectares of the site have an historical antecedent in the 19th‑century urbanisation of the left bank of the Rhône. Between the river and the dyke a potential biotope came to life, though it was never occupied for any significant period of time. It was placed under environmental protection in the 1990s, and a competition for the creation of a park was launched, which was won by Ilex. On the scale of the metropolis, this is the final link in a continuity of landscape that runs along the left bank of the Rhône.

In a modest economic context, the objective was to focus on what already existed, displaying and protecting its environmental potential. And light was central to our work. We let it shine into copses where spontaneous regeneration could occur. We reconfigured green spaces in order to protect equilibrium. Limitations of resources were turned into virtues. There were excellent public transport services, and no car parks. This being an urban nature project, tarmac and night lighting were avoided. Nature was left free to create the kind of space which was the other facet of an urban environment that epitomised freedom.