Plans, Sketches, & Hints
for the Improvement of the Château de Courances in Courances, Essone, Île-de-France, France
This book is dedicated to Johnny Steele. Without his guidance and support, I would not have found myself at the Château de Courances, or in the field of landscape architecture, to begin with.
A Note to the Reader,
This book is a reference to the Repton Red Book. Humphry Repton was a British landscape designer (1752-1818). He presented his designs to clients in the form of “Red Books,” his own innovation in which he packaged watercolors and handwritten text within red Morrocan leather to showcase his visions for the landscape to his clients. Many of these watercolors included before and after views. Clients could view a watercolor of their existing landscape, and then lift up a flap to reveal Repton’s proposed changes. This way, clients who were not accustomed to reading plan or sectional drawings could more easily envision the changes being proposed to them. These watercolors were often accompanied by text explaining the intentions behind the changes made. These overlaps and texts were a key part of Reptons’ design practice, and serve as a precursor to the rendered view, most often produced digitally, which is widely used by designers today.
The decision to base my proposals for changes to Courances’ landscape on the Red Books is not arbitrary. As Courances is a historic estate with gardens dating back to the 16th century, major changes proposed to its landscape are sure to raise eyebrows among those who are in favor of conservation of historic landscapes. I chose to frame my proposal for changes to Courances’ landscape within the overtly historical context of the Red Book to draw attention to the fact that proposing changes to landscapes based on the social climate and public interests of the time is not a novel proposition, but rather one deeply steeped in the history of landscape architecture. Repton proposed and carried out changes to countless landscapes in response to what was in fashion at the time, as I do the same now for Courances. Secondly, Repton is considered a precursor of Rewilding, a progressive approach to environmental conservation in which natural processes are allowed to repair damaged ecosystems. Like many of Repton’s designs, which evoke the notion of wilderness (albeit highly controlled), the majority of the designs presented here, too, encourage a return to a more “wild” time, foregoing monocultures and intensive maintenance in exchange for approaches that encourage biodiversity. I hope the ideas presented in this book both provoke and inspire.
September, 2022, Houston, Texas
Caroline Wells Craddock
III I II
Cher famille de Courances,
It was an utter pleasure to spend six weeks at Courances the summer of 2022.
Courances stands out among other châteaus in the area in two ways. One, its design is paired down to a degree of elemental refinement that lends itself to both elegance and intimacy. Secondly, an energy penetrates its grounds. For quite a historic place, it still feels so alive. I believe this sense of vivacity is in large part due to the way that you, the stewards of this land, have embraced a spirit of change and adaptation in the maintenance of its landscape. All garden history is a unique imposition on nature based on the fashions of the time. Built over 500 years ago, Courances boasts five centuries of garden design, each reflective of the economic status of its various owners and the social climate of the time. Although we tend to attribute the experience of a garden to the original designer, the evolution of the garden design at the Château de Courances reveals that over time the experience of a garden depends more on the owners, their economic status, and the different political and social climates through which the garden passes. For example, during renaissance times, local labor was cheap, making it possible to maintain labor-intensive designs at Courances. By the early 20th century, the labor structure had changed, so the owners focused maintenance on small parterres around the château, leaving the forest to regenerate on its own. During World War II, necessity forced Jean Louis de Ganay to invent new maintenance techniques involving existing agricultural machinery, resulting in a simpler site design. Today, we face the threat of a quickly warming climate. At the same time, there is a heightened public concern for social equality. So, dear caretakers of Courances, how will you address the realities of our time? What will mark the design of Courances in the 21st century?
Respectfully yours, Caroline Wells Craddock
PARTERRE POLLINISATEUR
I.
PARTERRE POLLINISATEUR
The design of the boxwood and red gravel parterre behind the château is a vestige of the French formal garden. In full sun, this boxwood monoculture is suffering and requires constant watering and maintenance. It is an ecological desert. By replacing the boxwoods and gravel with sun-loving meadow plants, the new parterre will require little to no irrigation while also providing habitat to pollinator species such as bees and butterflies. Keeping with the tradition of the parterre, which uses plants to construct decorative patterns, the new species will be planted in masses to create an ornamental design. Overtime, some species will adapt better than others, and others will disappear. A meadow will emerge.
Once the meadow is established, visual interest when viewed from above must be maintained. By mowing in ornamental designs, the pollinator parterre retains its decorative visual nature while also providing paths that invite garden vistors into the meadow. In addition, these mowed areas will further encourage biodiversity, as wildlife tends to thrive in edge conditions, where mowed path meets unmowed meadow. Forever changing appearance with the seasons, this perennial meadow reminds its viewer of the quiet but constant passing of time in nature.
PARTERRE POLLINISATEUR
The design of the boxwood and red gravel parterre behind the château is a vestige of the French formal garden. In full sun, this boxwood monoculture is suffering and requires constant watering and maintenance. It is an ecological desert. By replacing the boxwoods and gravel with sun-loving meadow plants, the new parterre will require little to no irrigation while also providing habitat to pollinator species such as bees and butterflies. Keeping with the tradition of the parterre, which uses plants to construct decorative patterns, the new species will be planted in masses to create an ornamental design. Overtime, some species will adapt better than others, and others will disappear. A meadow will emerge.
Once the meadow is established, visual interest when viewed from above must be maintained. By mowing in ornamental designs, the pollinator parterre retains its decorative visual nature while also providing paths that invite garden vistors into the meadow. In addition, these mowed areas will further encourage biodiversity, as wildlife tends to thrive in edge conditions, where mowed path meets unmowed meadow. Forever changing appearance with the seasons, this perennial meadow reminds its viewer of the quiet but constant passing of time in nature.
Dipsacus fullonum & Himaris tityus
Papaver rhoeas Malva moschata
II.
PISCINE PUBLIQUE
PISCINE PUBLIQUE
What is the role of a private estate in contemporary society? The chilling spring water in the miroir, the large pool behind the château, offers a cool respite to those priveleged enough to be granted access to swim in its waters during the hot summer months. By expanding access to the miroir from just family members and their guests to all château visitors, the miroir becomes a public cooling feature in a quickly-warming climate.
France is experiencing one of the largest increases in climate temperature of all countries in Europe. Public ways of cooling become more important for those who cannot afford to privately cool themselves.
PISCINE PUBLIQUE
What is the role of a private estate in contemporary society? The chilling spring water in the miroir, the large pool behind the château, offers a cool respite to those priveleged enough to be granted access to swim in its waters during the hot summer months. By expanding access to the miroir from just family members and their guests to all château visitors, the miroir becomes a public cooling feature in a quickly-warming climate.
France is experiencing one of the largest increases in climate temperature of all countries in Europe. Public ways of cooling become more important for those who cannot afford to privately cool themselves.
The Temperature Difference on July 19th, 2022 Compared to Historical Mean -10 ° 0° +20°F+10°
III.
MARAIS RETROUVÉ
Courances sits on a former wetland. The very springs which fill Courances’ pools used to bubble up to the earth’s surface into a wetland thriving with diverse plant and animal life. Today, the water is channeled into pools which eventually empty in L’École river. The pools must be cleared of any debris, or they will overflow into the surrounding land. Eventually, water-loving plant life would take root, returning this land to marshland.
MARAIS RETROUVÉ
The Salle d’Eau, the pool northwest of the château which sits next to L’École, would be the first pool to turn back to marshland if the clearing of debris were ceased. The reemergence of the marsh would create habitat for endangered species that thrive in marshlands. This marshland would also become part of the habitat corridor of L’École, connecting wildlife populations once separated by human structures and activity.
Courances sits on a former wetland. The very springs which fill Courances’ pools used to bubble up to the earth’s surface into a wetland thriving with diverse plant and animal life. Today, the water is channeled into pools which eventually empty in L’École river. The pools must be cleared of any debris, or they will overflow into the surrounding land. Eventually, water-loving plant life would take root, returning this land to marshland.
MARAIS RETROUVÉ
The Salle d’Eau, the pool northwest of the château which sits next to L’École, would be the first pool to turn back to marshland if the clearing of debris were ceased. The reemergence of the marsh would create habitat for endangered species that thrive in marshlands. This marshland would also become part of the habitat corridor of L’École, connecting wildlife populations once separated by human structures and activity.
Aeschne
Iris pseudacorus
Emberiza schoeniclus
Rana temporaria
affine
WORKS CITED
The Morgan Library & Museum. Humphry Repton’s Red Books
- Part 1 - The Red Books. 2018. YouTube, https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=sJ5KnfIagK0.
Gamio, Lazaro, et al. “Mapping Europe’s Heat Wave.” The New York Times, 19 July 2022. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes. com/interactive/2022/07/19/world/europe/uk-europe-heat-map. html.
Awada, Fouad, et al. PLANTONS LOCAL EN ILE-DEFRANCE. pp. 39–61. https://www.arb-idf.fr/fileadmin/ DataStorageKit/ARB/Publications/arb-idf_-_plantons_local_en_ idf_-_web-bd.pdf
“Le Programme de Restauration de La Tête de Bassin Du Ru Du Rebais et Du Marais de Baudelut.” Le Semea, https://le-semea.fr/ zones-humides/le-programme-de-restauration-de-la-tete-de-bassindu-ru-du-rebais-et-du-marais-de-baudelut/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2022.
Isabelle Tree. Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm. Pan Macmillan. 2018.
Raxworthy, Julian. Overgrown: Practices between Landscape Architecture and Gardening. MIT Press, 2019.
Acknowledgements
The creation of this book was made possible by the generous funding from the Penny White Project Fund through the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. The contents of this manuscript, including the artwork and the book binding, were performed by Caroline Wells Craddock, a 2021 graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design Master in Landscape Architecture program.
I’d like to thank the Hansen family, for allowing me to frolic around their beautiful home, and their forward thinking attitude towards land stewardship and conservation; Patrick Deedes, for organizing my stay and being a constant support; Dominic Riolo, for his enthusiasm and companionship; Elodie, Julian, Teo, and Manolo, for imparting their knowledge of Courances and its maintenance to me; and on this side of the pond: to Anita Berrizbetia, for choosing me to study and experience this special place; my advisor, Edward Eigen, for his tutelage and shared love of our world’s histories; Charles Birnbaum, for our ongoing conversations on conservation and cultural legacy; Lee Steiner, for teaching me how to properly bind a book; my parents, John and Mary Craddock, for allowing me to transform their guest room into an art studio; and lastly, Jeremy Benson, for his unwavering love and support in all that I do.
