The Gardens of La Gara

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.

 

Disponible aussi en français

 

 

Title Information

Edited by Anette Freytag

1st edition

, 2018

Hardback

380 pages, 240 color and 48 b/w illustrations

19.5 x 27.5 cm

ISBN 978-3-85881-802-7

Content

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, Anette Freytag, 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.

 

Deutsche Ausgabe

Edition française

Authors & Editors

Verena Best-Mast

Erik A. de Jong

Erik Dhont

Éric Dumont

Leïla el-Wakil

Anette Freytag

 is a Professor of Landscape Design at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

Iris Lauterbach

Gaël Maridat

Rainer Michael Mason

, born 1943, art historian and specialist in prints, has been curator of prints at the Museum of Art and History in Geneva 1979–2005.

Markus Raetz

Luc-Éric Revilliod

Natalie Rilliet