© Schweingruber Zulauf Landschaftsarchitekten . Published on October 23, 2012.

The western edge of Geneva‘s center is demarcated by a topographical edge formed and transformed over thousands of years by natural and man-made forces. The expression of this edge today is one of heterogeneous fragments. Its value as an open space, landscape experience lies in the rich topographical differences between its urban, industrial and natural landscape conditions.

© Schweingruber Zulauf Landschaftsarchitekten . Published on October 23, 2012.

The new Promenade des Cretes is created out of a reduction of the current heterogeneous mix as well as a strengthening of the powerful existing landscape features. Linking three characteristic landscape zones the path itself is not featured as a central, newly added feature of the Promenade des Cretes, but rather becomes a reading and expression of its specific topographical situations. Three main landscapes, the plateau and lightly wooded escarpments between the Rivers L‘Arve and L‘Aire, „Housing in the Park“ – a sloped embankment with groups of large park trees and the once grand curve of the Arve now geometrically transformed into a landscape arena of the railway embankment, create a continuous green band – a new icon for Lancy. The formal language of the path itself, the palette of vegetation as well as the furnishings reflect and express their site specific section within the sequence.

© Schweingruber Zulauf Landschaftsarchitekten . Published on October 23, 2012.

The Promenade serves as a connector with its surroundings in an unpretentious manner, at both the larger scale connecting north to south as well as with the surrounding neighborhoods, inviting the users to enter and leave from many points, as needed, to travel along it or simply cross it to find a place from which to enjoy the grandness of the bluff’s tribune. The shape of the path originates out of its local topographical situation and embeds itself completely into the surrounding contours without the use of retaining walls. Topography and path become one. The change in the formal language of the path over the sequence of landscapes offers differing kinesthetic, spatial experiences of the various landscape topographies.

© Schweingruber Zulauf Landschaftsarchitekten . Published on October 23, 2012.

The palette of vegetation plays a defining role in the Promenade de Cretes, generated both by the kind of topography as well as the history of noble villa gardens atop the bluffs. From the rich palette existing on site plant combinations have been selected for each section of the path strengthening the individual characters within the sequence of landscape typologies. The path winds between two contrasting open space typologies – exotic, solitaire trees of the former villa gardens to the west and wooded slopes to the east. The placement of trees offers three distinct spatial experiences of the slope and movement along the path: the wide open, sparse placement of trees on the railway embankment, the disperse groups of trees in the park-like setting within the housing, and the dense placement of woodland species along the steep slopes to the north.

© Schweingruber Zulauf Landschaftsarchitekten . Published on October 23, 2012.