03. L’ARCHE DE LINNÉ
Embark on a journey through time and across continents in this garden, which tells the tale of Noah's Arc.
We have long been fascinated by the supernatural, epic and miraculous voyage of this living collection over the rising waters. With a new flood to overcome today, Noah has decided to save the "green" planet this time ... Inspired by Carl Linnaeus, the famous 18th century botanist, he decides to save the wonders of the plant world from the flood and harbours his finest collection of plants inside his arc.
Step into the garden and weave your way through the crates overflowing with plants that are ready for loading. You'll soon spot the Arc up ahead, beckoning you on-board for one last voyage. Inside this lifesize jewellery box, the collector has carefully arranged the green treasures from five habitats in wooden enclosures to protect them from the worst of the storm. And nestling amidst this profusion of plants, an exit door gives a tantalising glimpse of the end of the flood... The receding waters have carried away all form of life with them. While you step tentatively back onto dry land, the Arc's precious cargo heads out to reclaim this inert land aboard planted timber rafts.
designers
From left to right: Oriane Bodin, Laurène Pillot, Clément Villette and Laurent Beaubreuil
As a student in the same year as Clément Villette and Oriane Bodin, Laurène Pillot completed her landscape engineering studies at Agrocampus Ouest in Angers. Her training as an engineer helped her develop multidisciplinary skills, which, along with a love of wide open spaces, led her to combine landscape design with ecological management of territories. A Réunion “Zoreille”, Laurène has travelled from Namibia to New Zealand, developing a growing interest in tropical plant species. In her eyes, an ideal piece of landscape engineering creates wellbeing and ensures biodiversity.
Clément Villette, a Norman by birth and Angevin by adoption, was so won over by the “ark” idea that he could do no other than join the team. Landscapes have always been one of his passions, and he opted for a Baccalaureate in Agronomic Sciences with “Landscape Design” as his special subject. In 2009, He went on to continue his studies at Agrocampus Ouest’s National Institute of Horticulture and Landscaping (INHP), a school specialising in training landscape engineers. He has always felt the need to accumulate practical professional experience rather than stick to the purely academic side of things, which may well explain why he was put in charge of logistics for the “Expo Flo 2012” association in Angers, as well as why he decided to gather further experience through adding a full year of landscaping agency placements to his studies. Being selected for the Festival’s 2015 edition has made him all the more determined: “Coming up with and promoting an idea, organising the required work and admiring the result – that’s what motivates me on a daily basis”.
Laurent Beaubreuil is a senior technician in Constructional Systems: Wood and Housing. He started off as a carpenter, discovering the full scope of his chosen profession by practising it on project sites and in workshops on behalf of a range of Maine-et-Loire companies. After a few years on the job, he naturally enough turned his attention to engineering consultancy work, finally becoming a teacher of wood construction – a vocation he now exercises at Anger’s BTP CFA Maine-et-Loire.
