Continuing the story – Reflections on some experiences of transforming and showcasing heritage gardens

Preserving historic gardens, adapting them and passing them on for future generations requires us to view them with a perspective that is both humble and precise. Caught between heritage, landscape, ecological (climate and biodiversity), social and economic issues, our approach seeks to reconcile these challenges and foster dialogue between them through landscape design projects set within a historical context.
Through three characteristic examples, we will demonstrate that heritage is not always where one might expect it to be. Far from being a monolith, its definition evolves in line with current challenges. We must therefore seek to preserve the structure and composition of a garden, to reawaken the spirit of the place through careful management, and to adapt the site to current realities: the visual and physical relationship with its surroundings, the climate, its uses, and so on.
We will present the ongoing project at the Parc de la Mairie in Clichy-sous-Bois (93), the adaptation and opening to the public of the Val de Grâce garden in Paris, and the creation of the gardens at the Palais des Papes in Avignon (84).

Mirabelle Croizier and Antoine Quenardel

Mirabelle Croizier is a heritage architect, a graduate of the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-Belleville – where she teaches – and the École de Chaillot. She holds a DESS (postgraduate diploma) in Archaeological and Monumental Heritage and works in the fields of both architectural and landscape heritage.
Antoine Quenardel is a landscape architect and designer, a graduate of the École d’horticulture du Breuil de la Ville de Paris and the École nationale supérieure du paysage de Versailles. After gaining experience in architectural practices and community gardens, he set up his own practice as a freelance landscape architect in Paris. He is a landscape consultant to the State.
Mirabelle and Antoine met whilst studying for the Master’s degree in ‘Historic Gardens, Heritage and Landscape’ at the École nationale d’architecture de Versailles. Partners since 2018, they collaborate on various projects involving the restoration, conservation, creation and enhancement of gardens and public spaces within a heritage context: the gardens of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, the gardens of Noirlac Abbey, Buffon Park in Montbard, Port Vauban and Gallice in Antibes, the Château and Park of Neubourg, and the gardens of the former Val du Grâce Abbey in Paris… In 2023, they completed the new garden for the Bibliothèque nationale de France on the Richelieu site: Hortus Papyrifer.