Ambès Peninsula : Water a continuity to re-descover the territory

Ambès Peninsula is a territory at the convergence of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. As the character of the site is composed of multiple contrasting landscape typologies (industrial, natural and agricultural), the project seeks to find mediation between these entities. At first, the approach is focuses on a large scale intervention, a planning strategy based on the disused drainage hydraulic system running through the territory. The proposal aims to restore this system in order to create an ecological and aesthetical continuity throughout the entire peninsula. Aside from this restoration, walks are proposed along waterways guiding and offering views on the different characters of the place. Along these routes, three transitional spaces have been identified. For each of these areas, an ongoing process that can evolve with land opportunities, economical and paradigm changes has been developed. In St-Louis-de-Montferrand, the lands are organised perpendicular to the Garonne River as a pattern. Their uses have been defined by engagement with the local community. On the two other sites, the project explores ways of re-discovering lands marked by their natural or industrial history. The proposals follow existing networks formed by the water or by previous service routes. These places reveal intimate atmospheres related to the identity of the territory. Therefore water is considered as an element of constraint, the proposal uses it to create connections and as a lever to emphasise the landscapes. The project seizes the diversity of the territory and turns inaccessible lands into a first meeting with the Estuary of the Gironde.