The Gardens of La Gara
An 18th century estate in Geneva with gardens designed by Erik Dhont and a labyrinth by Markus Raetz
Contemporary and historic landscape design on an 18th-centruy estate near Geneva
La Gara is an 18th-century country estate in Jussy, a village near Geneva, Switzerland. The buildings have been carefully restored by Swiss architect Verena Best, who also added coherent interventions to the interior design. The renowned Belgian landscape designer Erik Dhont reinterpreted and subtly redesigned the gardens and surrounding grounds, completed by a palindrome-like labyrinth designed by Swiss artist Markus Raetz.
This new book tells the full story of the La Gara estate and illustrates its beauty. The essays by Anette Freytag, Verena Best-Mast, Erik A. de Jong, Erik Dhont, Éric Dumont, Leïla el-Wakil, Iris Lauterbach, Gaël Maridat, Rainer Michael Mason, Markus Raetz, Luc-Éric Revilliod, and Natalie Rilliet investigate various aspects of its preservation and restoration of buildings and gardens and the contemporary interventions. They highlight features such as the historic watering system for the gardens and the included fishponds and look at the specific Genevan garden tradition and characteristics of the rural landscape around Jussy with its biodiversity. Moreover, they contextualize La Gara with the “ferme ornée”, a villa with agricultural and ornamental features following ancient Roman models. The beautifully designed volume is rounded out with newly commissioned photographs by renowned Swiss photographer Georg Aerni.
Winner of the European Garden Book Award.