Gardens of La Gara

Renowned Belgian landscape designer Erik Dohnt joins author and Rutgers University landscape architecture professor Anette Freytag for a presentation on the new book, “The Gardens of La Gara,” celebrating an 18th century country estate near Geneva, Switzerland.

La Gara is an 18th-century country estate in Jussy, a village near Geneva, Switzerland. It stands in the tradition of the “ferme ornée”, a villa with agricultural and ornamental features following ancient Roman models. The buildings have been carefully restored by Swiss architect Verena Best-Mast, who also added coherent interventions to the interior design. The renowned Belgian landscape designer Erik Dhont reinterpreted and subtly redesigned the gardens and surrounding grounds, completed by a palindromic labyrinth designed by Swiss artist Markus Raetz.

This new book tells the full story of the La Gara estate and illustrate its beauty. It is a case study that touches on all dimensions of garden art, from social and political factors that trigger new garden styles, to the aesthetics of the creation of gardens, as well as horticultural techniques and landscape management measures to foster biodiversity. Its impact on how to deal with historical architectural ensembles in a respectful and genuinely contemporary manner will influence future actions far beyond Geneva.

For the Q+A following the presentation, Dr. Freytag and Mr. Dhont will be joined by the book’s graphic designers, Madeleine Stahel and Tiziana Artemiso, who capably crafted a subtle visual adaptation of the book’s thematic concerns and structural complexity.