Jardin du Familistère

Syndicat Mixte du Familistère de Guise / Clément Willemin – base mandataire / Aisne / 1,5 M€ / 9 ha / 2007

Located on an old island of 9 ha previously conducted in poplar grove, the contemporary garden of the Familistere of Guise in the department of the Aisne, is regularly the vitctim of violent floods coming from the Oise river. 30,000 m³ of earthworks were needed to fill a dead arm of the Oise river and soften the profile of all the banks, to offer a continuous walk along the water’s edge.
The garden is cut into 400 triangular plots of 100 to 700 m² each, and treated in four ways: coppice, bushes, meadow, lawn. The population participated in the plantations of the garden through a system of sponsorship of plants proposed during the competition.
A lagoon/plant filtration corridor, with a surface area of 6000 m², purifies the water collected in the Oise and feeds an outdoor pool, composed of pebbles and small surfaces of white concrete. This natural pool is regularly used for swimming, and is the first outdoor pool of its kind in France. Wooden pontoons allow people to navigate in the garden on dry foot in any season.
Comfort in an outdoor setting pays tribute to the social palace of the controversial, charismatic and enlightened industrialist Jean-Baptiste Godin (1817-1888).