SHIFTING SITES: Revitalisation of the Aire River, Geneva
The project adresses a concrete canalized river that was made for flood control in the end of the nineteenth century and then up to the mid twentieth century. The watershed of the river - circa 100 square kilometers – is eighty percent in France, as most of the rivers of the State of Geneva, a State sharing only 6 kilometers of border with Switzerland's other cantons and 120 kilometers with the french territory. The project is part of the »Master Plan for Geneva 2015« and of the program of revitalisation of urban streams. Commons goals are shared by Swiss and French administrations concerning quantity and quality of the river water and the collaboration is organized through a complex set ofstudies, reglementations and actions summarized in a »river contract« engaging both countries. The project is at the heart of vast territorial reorganisations at work in the Aire flood plain, transformations aiming at establishing a new balance between urban development, agricultural production and a restoration of natural ecosystems of the river. In particular the program aims to reconstruct a web of natural sites along the streams, forming a set of »linear gardens« up to the very heart of the city. It recommends also to keep a free public access to the river banks, but in a way that the pressure on the natural environment is under an acceptable level. The landscape structure proposed by the project assures both the protection against the flood, the presence of bilogical corridors and the capacity to accept the presence of social and productive activities. Georges Descombes holds degrees from the University of Geneva and the Architectural Association of London. He has taught in Europe and the USA, notably at Harvard and Berkeley, as well as the University of Geneva. Renowned for his interventions in the landscape, he very often associates contemporary artists to his work. He regularly collaborates with Carmen Perrin and has realised projects with Briton Richard Long and New-Yorker Max Neuhaus. His current works include the project “Lyon Confluence” and the renaturation of the Aire Canal in Geneva. Between landscaping and contemporary art, the work of Swiss architect Georges Descombes remains quite confidential. Very renowned in the landscaping world, especially in the USA and the Netherlands, he however stands apart from the current architecture scene.