The city of Carrières-sous-Poissy is situated just north-west of Paris on a meander of the Seine named Chanteloup. Its site on the banks of the river gives it significant and as yet unexplored geographical advantages.
The meander, and the town of Carrières-sous-Poissy benefit from 75% of the commune’s total surface area consisting of non urbanized land. This natural opening onto the Seine represents a significant opportunity for the development of the attractiveness of the area on the local scale but also on the scale of the valley. Because of its geographical situation and spatial configuration, there was a distinct need to master the project scope as well as the land pricing on the site.
The challenge of this urban project is to re-qualify open land to create a new centre at the heart of the meander, including green space which has been designed in relationship with elements of the Seine valley’s landscape ( Such as the Hautil Forest and the Poissy escarpments) and so as to develop a major public space for Carrières-sous-Poissy.
This vast space has been designed as a gradual sequencing from countryside to the new urban centre, creating an overall dialogue between town and country. The landscape design project at the heart of the urban project defines this space and specifies different areas within an ecological corridor which aims to bring together two great sources of bio-diversity: the forest and the river.