Urban furnitures, city of Rennes - France
 This
urban furniture, decided in the renovation of la Place de la République,
was designed in closed collaboration with Mister Cavalié (Atelier
de l’Ile), landscape adviser of the city and Mister Germaine,
architect of Bâtiment de France.
La Place de la République is located in the heart of the
city, at the crossing of East-West axle and North-South axle (historical
axle). This space, remarkably framed by a XIXth century building,
is destinated to become a major place of exchanges and crossings
of pedestrians, especially by the presence of the road station
and the future location of the “VAL” station ( an automatic
mass transit system). Its renovation had to take into account both
the historical dimension of the place and its contemporary insertion
among the most modern spaces of the city. Due to a technical constraint,
it was decided to plant trees in jars and pots : the square covers
the Vilaine river and does not sustain heavy weight of vegetable
earth.
 The renovation project, which is to start in 2003 spring, is
a garden which is an arbitration between the general frame of the
space, mainly based on the architecture and a high rate of pedestrian
crossings in all directions. This result is achieved by the setting
up of a row of green oak jars and vertical stands of vegetation
called vegetable library. At each side of the North-South axle,
two flower carpets punctuate the start of the place and surround
the two exits of the ‘VAL”. Large benches offer rest
spaces and spot the space.
Jars
for evergreen oaks
 Jars
and benches are a collection of garden furniture specific to la
Place de la République in the city of Rennes. They
have a common identity : same material – a ultra high performance
fibre reinforced concrete, white slightly grey – and the
reproduction on their surface of patterns inspired from boxwood
leaves.
 Their form, all being contemporary, echoes the neo-classical
architecture of the Post Office. The purified silhouette of jars
underlines
the strong overall geometry. The lids with their crosses in a continue
lining-up, suggest a certain pattern of the garden à la
Française.
 The high performance concrete has similar mechanical
properties as the cast iron or the ceramic Rather then the traditional
concrete,
it has microscopic grains allowing very fine footprints and a
delicate work of surface. The surface of the jars are not flat
but slightly
undulated, catching well the light. Small relieves emerge to
evoke boxwood leaves.
Dimensions : 120x120x96 cm.
Quantity : 120.
Double bench
The design of these benches fulfils the requirement of lightness
and transparency, therefor a willingness to play, while developing
a contemporary vocabulary, with archetypes of garden benches, so
the double seating, the wide middle space and the laths.
The two
parallel seatings without back, favour numerous attitudes more
or less conventionnal : side by side, face to face, back to
back, etc…
The same pattern as on the jars, is reproduced
at a smaller scale, on the surface of laths.
Dimensions : Long
3.12 m x large 0.72m x high 0.45 m.
Quantity : 20
Suspended bench
Located in the vicinity of vegetation, these slim benches, balanced
on one central leg, offer large curved seating surface overhanging
on the plants.
While playing with the image of traditional garden
bench, they differ by their proportions. The very large seating
surface and
the nearly absence of back allow many manners to use them. The
rear of the bench hides illumination devices oriented to clumps
which, in the evening, highlight the fragility of plants and
the delicateness of seating.
Dimensions : Long 2.86m x large 1.06 m x high
0.45 m
Quantity : 16.
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