The Garden of Dreams by serp (studio d’expérimentation, renaturation et paysage)

A memorial garden

The Garden of dreams (“Jardin des Songes”) is a tribute to the Australian troops who resisted and prevented the capture of Amiens during the First World War. Its location at the foot of the ramparts of the citadel, the last place of resistance to the capture of the city during the Second World War, reinforces its symbolic and honorary dimension. The citadel of Amiens now houses the University of Amiens-Picardie, designed by Renzo Piano.

The Garden of dreams is conceived as a last thought, a journey of the mind, a moment when the confusion of dream and reality mixes. It is the projection of an elsewhere that an Australian soldier might imagine in the chaos of battle. A landscape dreamed of by those who will never see their homeland again, as a sacrifice for peace.

At the heart of the courtyard, visitors discover a large garden of warm colours that come alive in the sunlight like a mirage. An informal path takes shape in the movement of the ground, subtly inviting the visitor to discover the rest of the garden. The paths are made of crushed brick and ochre sand, evoking the red earth of the Australian bush and the ramparts of the Citadel.

The relief of the ground is inspired by the scars of the First World War, the rugged terrain of the bombing raids and the trenches still visible on the battlefields of the Somme department (Beaumont-Hamel). These islands of land also symbolise the fragmentation of cultures and origins, here brought together in an archipelago to form the common landscape of the alliance of foreign forces involved in the war.

A sensitive and symbolic experience

This topographical interplay is reinforced and guides the visitor towards the centre, where the paths become narrower and the vegetation thicker. This vegetation gradually takes root:
– The first ring of islands, furthest from the centre, is made up of prairie species with conquering perennials in full bloom.
– The second ring forms a shrubbery, made up mainly of evergreen shrubs chosen to evoke the Australian landscape, like the seeds that travel with the soldiers.
– The final ring, closest to the centre, forms a belt of trees. In autumn, the extravagant foliage of serviceberry, phormium and sporobola fills the garden with warmth, contrasting with the grey-green hues of pine, eucalyptus, mimosa and sea buckthorn.

In this crown, as close as possible to the heart of the garden, the fragments of landscape become more and more remarkable. On either side, the walls are reinforced with pine stakes, blackened by a burning technique to evoke the atmosphere of the trenches, creating a sense of compression.

Visitors then move towards the centre of the garden, where the light is filtered through the canopy of trees. An atmosphere of undergrowth plunges them into a sanctuary of reverence and contemplation. In this clearing, open to the sky, seemingly inert rocks bloom each year with ephemeral white flowers. A garden of peace is renewed each spring.

A peaceful garden, a transition between history, nature and the city

Through the sensory experience of the visitor, the Peace Garden conveys a feeling of serenity and tranquillity, while at the same time drawing attention to the historical dimension of the Citadel and its historical significance. Its isolated location within the southern bastion, its topography that plays with the thresholds of intimacy, the compression of space as one reaches the centre of the garden, the colours, scents and sounds of nature all combine to create a space that is truly conducive to introspection and contemplation.

Located in the South Bastion, a formerly forgotten space, the Peace Garden is situated at the crossroads between the University of the Citadel and the historic city centre of Amiens. By enhancing this neglected area of the city with inexpensive landscaping, it also plays a unifying role, acting as a link between two neighbourhoods.

Accessible to all, it is also an oasis of freshness for local residents and university students, a reservoir of biodiversity within the city, and a receptacle for rainwater absorption through permeable paths. In addition to these quantifiable benefits, its presence makes the urban space more pleasant and ensures the continuity of life in a dense environment.

Plant palette (see dedicated image)
The species were chosen for their low water requirements.

• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:
– Studio serp (lead landscape architect), based in Paris, France
– JMD design Landscape Architects (associate landscape architect), based in Sydney, Australia

• Other credits:
Art & jardins | Jardins de la Paix (client)