EDEN BIO: Paris Grows a Green Heart
by Alexandra Kain, 05/05/09
Villas des Vignoles or EDEN BIO is an entire block of public housing nestled in urban Paris. The newly unveiled dwellings are enclosed in a small alley with plenty of nooks and crannies for gardening, composting or even small rabbit hutches—as designer Edouard Francios so picturesquely envisioned. Green walls or vegetable facades will hug the exterior of the housing block, and in the coming months trees will begin to shoot off branches. The landscaping will continue to grow into its surroundings aging like a fine French wine.
The common method for greening up a construction site before it goes on the market is to blast Monsanto chemicals onto shallow soil. This results in a quick burst of green and, in a few years when the chemicals have gone elsewhere, the plants grow stagnant and brittle.
Francios preferred a more organic scene—drawing elements from permaculture and slow design. Deep beds of soil form the foundation where he planted small, organic plants based on their ability to thrive without pesticides or regular care. In time, leaves from the trees will coat the ground, decomposing into natural fertilizer for the ground plants creating a wild, self sustaining landscape.
Via Dezeen
I have lived in this area of Paris for over 10 years. I saw the old houses/ruins before they were torn down, the project, the construction…
It’s a fantastic area, but I am sad to say that I find it terrible that it is all fenced in and the whole area is closed of to the rest of the neighbors. We could walk through the little alleys, chat with neighbors…we no longer can. The buildings might be green, but fencing in is not very social…great shame. Lucky that the rest of the area has stayed true to the spirit of the neighborhood.