VOL. 2 / No. 2 / Published by LAN Architecture , July 2010 www.lan-paris.com

Greenhouse Effect LAN is building bridges p.3 between the Jardin des Context / Plantes . Closed to the public for over A botanical five years, the greenhouses showcase have recovered their former prestige after a major p.4 renovation and restructuring The Concept / operation. Dissolving limits

p.10 Lighting / Chiaroscuro

p.11 First-hand experience / “The Making Of” the project 2. In the spotlight The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Jardin des Plantes aerial view

Editorial By Marie-Eve Lacasse Rites of passage

n 2 June 2010, the the event four entirely renova- ted and restructured Jardin des Plantes – 2nd June greenhouses in the Reopening of the greenhouses, Jardin des Plantes in Paris, were reopened the city’s showcase toO the public after years of work. for discovering The Muséum’s showcases for tropical forest and desert plants, the flora of New Cale- donia and plant history, they house its rich collection of rare exotic plants, including several varieties now extinct and plants Genesis from the prehistoric era. To help visitors find their way through these jungles and deserts – extraordinary landscapes to discover in the heart of Paris – LAN has created an itinerary that unfolds What is from one to the next and whose forms emphasize, with a motif, a specific form or colour, the particularities of these a greenhouse? contrasting worlds. These “passageways” As a rule, a greenhouse is an enclosed structure intended enable us to experience the plants at close for agricultural production, protecting plants grown for food hand, to freely immerse ourselves in them, or pleasure from the elements. emphasising the distinction between a “” and a “greenhouse.” Other actors played their role in this vast renovation project: the restoration of the Greenhouses are also used to protect fragile or sance, when French and German aristocrats greenhouse structures was directed by non-indigenous plants from the cold and fa- sought to protect the plants and fruit brou- Jean-François Lagneau, and Nathalie vour the growth of crops (vegetables, flowers, ght back from Italy [...]. At that time there Crinière designed the information panels, etc.) by creating an environment more fa- were close ties between aristocrats, botanists insisting on installing them on too-impo- vourable than the local climate. The idea of and gardeners,” explains Yves-Marie Allain, sing iron vines. growing plants in a controlled environment former director of the Jardin des Plantes. The The management of the plants was super- has existed since Roman times and the first greenhouses revived the Utopian dream of the vised by the MNHM’s botanist/gardeners, modern greenhouses were built in Italy in the great 15th-century botanists, to grow plants Xavier Larpin and Dario de Franchesi. 13th century, when they were called giardini from other latitudes in the ground (not in The greenhouses enable us to discover four botanici (botanical gardens). pots). One by one, all the European capitals, distinct natural contexts but also the world The first greenhouses in the Jardin des Plantes, from London to Copenhagen, built themsel- of , encouraging a better awareness the present-day New Caledonian and Plant ves similar botanical dream worlds, and they of the plant world and how to preserve it. History greenhouses, were built between became as much a part of the new urban lifes- And what could be more fitting than the 1834 and 1836, and were the first large metal tyle as the theatres and opera houses. reopening of the greenhouses in the Inter- greenhouses in the world. “The idea of ha- national Year of Biodiversity? ving greenhouses ‘germinated’ in the Renais- 3. Context The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

57 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris Technical Information

PROJECT: A botanical showcase Design of a new visitors’ itinerary A haven of greenery in the heart of the city. CLIENT: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle

LOCATION: Jardin des Plantes COST: 650 000€ excl. VAT AREA: 1 850 m2 TIMETABLE: 2007/2010 TEAM: LAN Architecture (head architects), BETHAC-BET Fluides

To immerse oneself in a haven of atmosphere, interspersed with The New Caledonia Overall view of the greenery in the heart of the city, artificial rocks and streams, one greenhouse greenhouses, a historic to wander amongst majestic rare can contemplate giant ficuses, formerly the Mexican greenhouse feature of the Jardin plants, to lose oneself in the de- banana trees, a Bermuda palm and planted with numerous des Plantes since sert, to discover plants from the and the Monstera deliciosa vine, recent acquisitions, invites us the 17th century age of the dinosaurs or to revise illustrating the fragile splendour to explore the island’s different one’s biology lessons, these are of tropical ecosystems. biotopes (tropical rain forest, just some of the reasons to take tropical dry forest, maquis mi- the Métro to Jussieu and venture The Deserts nier, savanna and mangrove). into the Jardin des Plantes. The and Arid four greenhouses unveil four Environments The History of Plants ecosystems one after the other: greenhouse greenhouse Inside This entirely renovated green- formerly known as the Australian The Tropical Rain Forest house shows five natural scena- greenhouse, is the last scene Dissolving limits ...... p.4 greenhouse rios illustrating the American and of this visit in four acts. The plurality of concrete ...... p.4 A tropical world ...... p.5 Formerly called the Winter Gar- African deserts, with numerous Its chronological itinerary Moiré mirages ...... p.7 den and closed since 2004, this species illustrating their floras’ reveals the unknown history The world of the Kanaks ...... p.8-9 Chiaroscuro ...... p.10 greenhouse had never ever been different climate adaptation of plants, stretching back over “The Making Of” the project ...... p.11 restored. In a hot and humid mechanisms. 400 million years. Primitive scenes ...... p.12

The Tropical The Deserts and The New The History Rain Forest 5 Arid Environments7 Caledonia 8-9 of Plants 12 A tropical world Moiré mirages The world of the Kanaks Primitive scenes 4. The concept The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Project

he guiding princi- ples defining LAN’s Dissolving limits project were to dis- The place and its change of scene potential. T solve the limits of the greenhouse structures in order to mix colour, form and matter, to create pathways perfectly integra- ted into their host environments, and to illuminate and highlight the majesty of the trees while respecting the natural ambient light. It is the vegetation’s excep- tional luxuriance that is given precedence, not the ostentatious architecture, which would have detracted from it. The treatment of the paths blends into the spaces while reflecting the characteristics of each of the four greenhouses. Benoît Jallon and Umberto Na- politano recall their first visit to the greenhouse project: “Wande- ring on bare earth, feeling oneself in the midst of all this vegetation, devoid of any written informa- tion, order or architecture, was an extremely powerful sensorial experience.”

Material The same concrete was used for the edges. With time, the plants and tory greenhouse, the same concrete path in four different ways. In the flowers will be able to infiltrate was shaped to accommodate the Tropical Forests greenhouse, the the path itself and its surface will listed stones marking out the path, prefabricated concrete, coloured acquire a patina. In the Deserts which had remained unchanged The plurality during mixing, is laid in strips of greenhouse, the concrete is light- for a century. The New Caledonia different lengths alternating with coloured and helps accentuate the greenhouse is divided in two by an of concrete bare ground. This has the effect of dazzling atmosphere in this sun- elegant footbridge engraved with “blurring” or “fraying” the path’s drenched pavilion. In the Plant His- Kanak motifs and lit from beneath.

Plan

SERRE DE L’HISTOIRE DES PLANTES SERRE NÉO-CALÉDONIENNE SERRE DES FORÊTS TROPICALES

LE COL

SERRE DES DÉSERTS 5. The Topical Rain Forest The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Techniques A tropical world Order and nature: repetition making the difference.

uilt between 1935 and 1936, the Tropical Rain Forest greenhouse has a pond and an imposing hollow concrete rock, with its large size enabling it to host the tallest plants. B For this first greenhouse, LAN designed an itinerary structured by prefabricated concrete modules the same colour as the earth. All the slabs were laid by hand and their spacing enables the earth and the plants to gain a hold in the interstices, allowing the path to evolve organically with time and as visitors use it. This intervention enabled the itinerary’s enlargement for people with reduced mobility and the modification of the path’s route to create a more comfortable space to walk through and areas for groups and other events.

Details

MODULE A MODULE B MODULE C MODULE D Surface: 0.45 m² Surface: 0.45 m² Surface: 0.57 m² Surface : 0.57 m² Quantity: 49 unités Quantité: 33 unités Quantity: 67 unités Quantity : 67 unités Total surface: 22.05 m² Total surface: 14.85 m² Total surface: 38,19 m² Total surface: 38,19 m²

The Module

The concrete modules were to create the intervening prefabricated and grooved groove when modules are before delivery and laying. laid edge to edge. Each of the paths in the Tropical As the direction in which Forests greenhouse is composed each module is laid differs of two modules, chosen and (with the edge groove facing placed according to the space the outside or the inside left by the surrounding vegetation of the greenhouse), symmetrical and to ensure the minimum “mirror” modules were created width imposed by accessibility to ensure that the groove standards. Each module has was always on the right side an extra interstice on one side vis-à-vis the adjoining module. 6. Game The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2 www.lan-paris.com Architecture / LAN Designed by

5 TICKETS The offer is available for a visit for a visit of the Jardin TO BE WON des Plantes Greenhouses from 15th July to 30th of September 2010 www.lan-paris.com Architecture /

LAN FREE GAME To play call 01 43 70 00 60 Designed by 7. The Deserts and Arid Environments The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

ring moiré effect of the sun on The core idea the dunes. The white walkway Greenhouse dips slightly in the middle, ac- information centuating the path’s perspective, and plant containers are covered with white aluminium to reflect Moiré the greenhouse’s dazzling light. The Deserts greenhouse shows 1700 five natural scenarios, whose Tropical species mirages plants are grouped by type of Two walkways adaptation to their environment, creating changing i.e. their strategy for withstanding points of view lack or rarity of water. Their fascinating geometries and myriad textures constantly sur- prise us: balls, candelabras, plants ho wouldn’t be house is the most exposed to the with spiny, furry and hairy lea- confused by the sun, LAN decided to amplify its ves, or with leaves and stems that sudden appari- dazzling atmosphere: the white store water (succulents). W tion of a pool of perforated sheet metal railings are The luminosity and dry heat water in the middle of the desert, duplicated and placed a few cen- of this environment contrast stri- gradually disappearing as one ap- timetres apart so that they “come kingly with the preceding green- proaches it? As the Deserts green- to life,” recreating the shimme- houses.

Section 8. New Caledonia The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Section Design and origins The world of the Kanaks

he motifs inscribed in the walkway’’s paving were inspired by the motifs decorating the Kanaks’ houses and everyday utensils. Inspired by the idea of a pier reaching out into the T sea, the pathway is slightly elevated and lets through rays of light, creating a theatrical effect. Why devote an entire greenhouse to this Oceanian archipelago? “Seventy percent of New Caledonia’s plant species are endemic, and with its five biotopes – humid forest, dry fo- rest, (very endangered), maquis minier, savannah and mangrove – it’s a ‘hot spot’ of world biodiversity,” explains Denis Larpin, scientific di- rector of the Muséum’s tropical plant collection. “The vast majority of the plants had to be acquired and acclimatised – very few, except for a few araucarias, were already in the collection. “It will be a challenge to grow some of these plants,” he adds, “because they are so dependent on a very specific environment. Many of them are descendents of the flora of Gwondana, the continent from which the island separated seventy million years ago.”

the detail Kanak Kanak is the name used to designate the indigenous population of New Caledonia in the South Pacific 9. New Caledonia The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Motif © MNHN Manuel Cohen

Initial panel

MODULE

the detail le détail This is the first time that New-Caledonian flora is on display elsewhere. Combination 10. Lighting The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Nocturnal atmosphere Chiaro scuro Low-key thinking

AN was also commis- sioned to design three distinct lighting sce- L narios: for the paths, the vegetation and the rock. The principal aim was to en- hance the natural light filtered by the vegetation to create inte- resting areas of shade along the itinerary. Individual plants also had to be highlighted: the ver- ticality of certain trees, for ins- tance, is emphasised by lighting the trunk from the roots to the summit. Specific areas of the rock were lit to enhance its intri- guing chiaroscuro.

Greenhouse information 1640 Opening of the Jardin des Plantes 22° Minimum temperature of the Jardin des Plantes greenhouses 2010 is International Year of Biodiversity 80-95 % Air humidity 11. First-hand expérience The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Interview “The Making Of” the project Maxime Foster, the project’s architectural supervisor

What kind of experience was the work for you? To be in the greenhouses, some- times alone, sometimes at night, moving among the plants and in places with such scale and sensa- tions was extraordinary. There was a kind of pride in taking part in the renovation of an architectural heritage. I found myself roaming through the labyrinths of hidden paths and underground passa- geways, or in the service staircase inside the rock, with its 15-metre climb up a very narrow, seemingly endless conduit – each time thin- king about the staircase in the Sa- grada Familia…

Did working among plants modify your prac- tices as an architect? Yes. We saw the plants evolving everyday. It was very moving to discover the scent of the palm trees in bloom one week, to find enormous banana leaves on the path one morning or to see a tree that seemed to be dead covered with leaves a month later – and consequently having to change the lighting!

Did you encounter any particular technical difficulties? Compliance with reduced mobi- The path through the Tropical lity access or architecture listed as Greenhouse Forest greenhouses was the most a historic monument? information challenging. As no machine This was often the dilemma when could access it, the work had to it came to details. For instance, we be done manually. The workmen were granted the right to break were wonderful but it was a tita- a small listed plant box to gain a 5 nic task. Every concrete module centimetre to comply with accessi- Years of work had to be carried in by hand – bility standards… Maxime Foster after reopening each weighing around 200 kilos. It was interesting to see how the And all this was done in the mid- various administrations invol- dle of fragile plants that had to ved made concessions. We were be watered daily. also hampered by interferences € 8M total cost between the different projects un- of renovation Was working on a listed derway, particularly on planning monument an opportu- issues: we had to ask the gardeners nity or an additional not to water the plants for a week constraint? so as not to soil the concrete be- 8000 I was surprised by a number of fore its was completely dry. And Visitors contradictions. What should take because of this some of the plants during the first precedence? almost died! opening week 12. The Plant History The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Plant evolution Primitive scenes An exterior passageway leads directly into the heart of the Plant History greenhouse

ia an exterior passageway, on enters the heart of the Plant History greenhouse, whose five scenes show the major phases of plant development. V This is a rare opportunity to see the modern represen- tatives of the world’s most ancient plant groups (lycopods, horse- tails, ferns, cycas, conifers, primitive angiosperms, etc.), fossilized specimens and reconstructions of extinct plants. They are presen- ted in twelve scenes, five of which illustrate major innovations in plant evolution during the Secondary and Primary eras (540 to 65 million years ago). “Less that thirty million years ago, all the species more or less existed, and were spreading and adapting,” explains Dario de Franchesi, professor of palaeobotany, morphology and anatomy. The author of this time-defying play in five acts, he is concerned by the “stress” the renovation work has caused his plants so close to the reopening. The stones are listed and there- fore had to be preserved in situ; the path was merely enlarged and 5 major stages the concrete is tinted the same colour as the stones. The slabs were in plant history laid so that they followed the original joints and blend into their surroundings. The Palaeozoic Era Plan 01 From bare ground to the first forests (Silurian) SERRE DE L’HISTOIRE DES PLANTES SERRE NÉO-CALÉDONIENNE 02 The development of foliage: the Le Col ferns of the Carboniferous age LE COL 03 The ovule: the innovation at the “root” of present-day plant diversity 04 From ovule to seed: the first conifersy The Mesozoic Era 05 The invention of flowers and fruit: the first angiosperms 13. Inauguration evening The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

the event Jardin des Plantes - 2 June 2010 The new-look greenhouses throw a ‘garden party’

Who’s who of the opening night

The personality-studded cast included: Chantal Jouanno, secretary of state for Ecology, Frédéric Miterrand, minister of Culture and Communication, and Valérie Pécresse minister of Higher Education and Research 14. Infos The JOURNAL Paris, July 2010 / VOL. 2 / No. 2

Production: LAN Architecture

Editorial coordination: Margherita Ratti Cécile Adjemian

DESIGN: Published by LAN Architecture Undo-Redo

Writer: featuring the presentation of the Marie-Eve Lacasse Jardin des Plantes Greenhouses project - Paris Translator: Paris, July 2010 David Wharry

LAN Architecture Studio News

WORK IN PROGRESS 07-2010 04-2010 MUNICIPAL 30 SOCIAL rue de Paradis GYMNASIUM, HOUSING UNITS, 10-2010 CHELLES PARIS EDF ARCHIVE

rue du Faubourg Poissonière

rue d’Hauteville CENTRE

rue des Petites Ecuries rue Martel

25 rue d’Hauteville 75010 Paris Work on the foundations will The existing buildings were begin in July 2010. The gymna- demolished in April 2010. Phone +33 1 43 70 00 60 sium will open to the public in Preparation of the site Fax +33 1 43 70 01 21 The EDF Archive Centre September 2011. LAN’s design for construction will begin [email protected] project is nearing completion. for the surrounding square will be in September 2010. The building will be ready executed after the opening. Directors for use in September. Benoit Jallon AWARDS [email protected] Umberto Napolitano [email protected] 06-2010 07-2010 NEUE 06-2010 PAJOL HAMBURGER 2010 EUROPE 40 STUDENT TERRASSEN UNDER 40 RESIDENCE LAN has received the 2010 Europe 40 Under 40 award for Europe’s most Contact important emerging architects and designers.

For further information, call or write to: The master plan for this Margherita Ratti Construction of this 150-unit new residential district in 03-2010 +33 1 43 70 00 60 student residence in the XVIIIe Hamburg is being finalised. AR FUTURE [email protected] arrondissement in Paris is now The study for the design of PROJECTS well-advanced. The shell is the buildings has begun. AWARDS 2010 finished, work on the facades ©2010, LAN Architecture LAN received one of the All rights reserved. Reproduction is underway and the pilot room in whole or in part without written has been presented and passed AR Future Projects Awards permission is strictly prohibited. by the project management. for the 486 Mina El Hosn The residence will be finished Tower in Beirut, Lebanon. www.lan-paris.com in December.