The C4R's collective residence was dedicated in part to defining an ecological
and adequate way to the principles of the "planetary garden" and the "garden in
movement" in the management of the living present on the Terrra project site.
Noting the imbalance caused by the invasive presence of black locust trees, it
was decided to reduce the number of these trees in the borders of the wooded
areas in order to favour a better dynamic of biodiversity. We have also carried
out mowing courses, and we have classified the wood cut for later use in the
various developments. Following Gilles Clément's advice, the coordination of the
workshop days was carried out by Stefan Pop and we also involved the inhabitants
of Brezoi who participated by contributing their local knowledge (as well as the
use of the draught horse for steep areas).
Site of the project Terrra
Use of the cheval de traction
Classement du bois coupé
Cours de fauchage :
Tag - planetary
TERRRA is a trans-local hub for exploring new ways of living, new alliances with
nature, better balances between production and consumption. Located in the
Carpathian Mountains, in Brezoi, Romania, it offers a space to valorise
traditional knowledge, in dialogue with recent technological and environmental
advances. TERRRA is also a network of activists acting at the intersection of
ecology, architecture, artistic practices, pedagogy and research, through a
multitude of practices and projects at different scales. TERRRA will host a
branch of the School of Planetary Gardeners, a "disseminated educational
project" initiated by Gilles Clément in different parts of the world. Its
location will be used as "didactic" material for teaching traditional and
contemporary practices of restoring living landscapes (the living).
Below, a video dialogue with Gilles Clément on the occasion of a workshop
organised in July 2021 in Brezoi. How can we value a unique craft and
traditional know-how in an economy that is programming them to disappear? For
whom is the learning of these practices intended? Gilles Clément evokes the
Romanian artisanal construction practices as a treasure of know-how to be
protected, developed and transmitted to future generations. In this sense, the
TERRRA hub and the School of Planetary Gardeners will welcome young people who
question current practices and are looking for alternative ways of doing. In the
longer term, the aim is to change practices through action, and to raise
awareness in order to enhance this artisanal know-how and to change the current
economic thinking.
The FieldTrip / Worskhop C4R in Bucharest was continued by the roundtable
discussion « From local to planetary : changing the way of life » where
participated Gilles Clément, Constantin Petcou, Doina Petrescu, Stefan Pop, the
Tranzit.ro team and a large public.
The introduction by Raluca Voinea noticed the importance of this kind of open
discussion as part of the C4R project. Doina Petrescu and Constantin Petcou
presented the evolution of a driven-citizens ecological transition strategy
(R-Urban) in a global environnemental context which is quickly deteriorating
(summaries of the GIEC report were published the previous day). Gilles Clément
demonstrated the importance of water for organisms at different scales, as well
as the cultural stereotypes that must be overcome by professionals who want to
fight against an excessive anthropization of the planet. A discussion with the
audience allowed us to explore some ways of thinking grounded in the local
context.
Many thanks to the Tranzit.ro team for this perfect planning and to all the
participants (despite the Covid and the heatwave!) !
A public event: Gilles Clément in dialogue with Civic Movement R-Urban
27 July 2021, 6 pm Casa Filipescu-Cesianu, Calea Victoriei 151, Bucharest
“As planetary gardeners, we depend on all the biological diversity that we
harness for a living. We must preserve it to ensure a future. What kind of model
do we want to develop, to allow both the exploitation of diversity for the
benefit of an expanding world population, and the preservation, in quality and
quantity terms, of that diversity on which we depend? We must respond to this
question as quickly as possible if we are not to succumb to the inevitability of
irreversible forces of destruction, but rather to develop in every conceivable
field a mental territory of optimism – a garden.” (Gilles Clément, 2021)
Gilles Clément is a French gardener, landscape designer, botanist, entomologist
and writer. He is the author of several groundbreaking concepts in the framework
of landscaping, such as “moving garden” (jardin en mouvement), “planetary
garden” (jardin planétaire) and “third landscape” (tiers paysage). For his many
landscape projects including the André Citroën Park, the Quai Branly Garden or
the Henri-Matisse Park in Lille, he has received the “Grand Prix du paysage“ in
1998. Doina Petrescu and Constantin Petcou (atelier d’architecture autogérée)
develop ecological projects carried out with/by citizens, nomadic devices and
urban strategies. For their projects (which include EcoBox, Passage 56, R-Urban,
Wiki Village Factory, Vision 2030 Seine Saint Denis) they have received a number
of international awards including Resilient Building Prize 2018 and European
Political Innovation Prize in Ecology 2017. Constantin Petcou and Doina Petrescu
represent R-Urban, a civic movement which supports the emergence of alternative
models of living, producing and consuming between the urban and the rural.
The event in Bucharest is organised by tranzit.ro/ Bucuresti and AAA as part of
the project C4R.
Jardin Arche de la Défense. Gilles Clément
Agrocité Biodiversité, 2014. R-Urban, aaa