Historic gardens

Historic gardens
Theories and practices of their restoration by Pierre André Lablaude

The art of restoring a garden, which is 90% non-plant, consists mainly in restoring its structure in space, its scale in the landscape as well as in its particular spaces. Paradoxically, as soon as it is created, a garden is doomed to the ineluctable destruction of its image, each stage of its decline containing a real artistic, dreamlike, picturesque... historical value. Since conservation treatment cannot exist, its restoration represents a challenge for heritage architects: the choice between "poetic, aesthetic, scientific, and intellectual" values, but also the consideration of "the constant reference to philosophy and faith". This book puts into perspective the academic and practical teaching of Pierre André Lablaude, chief architect of the Monuments Historiques. It firstly describes the lecture on the history and restoration of gardens that he gave at the École de Chaillot in Paris. The second part of the book is devoted to case studies of the main sites of the Lablaude agency (Versailles, Mont-Saint-Michel, Royaumont, and large private estates such as Farcheville and La Constantinière), which illustrate the importance of the work both in terms of knowledge of the subject and the diversity of practical issues.

Under the direction of Colette di Matteo Lablaude
with Hermann Editions, 2022
Number of pages: 264
Dimensions: 21 x 27 cm
Publication date: Fall 2022
Language : French
ISBN 979-1-03700-353-9