Lyon : Riverbanks of the Saône / Nature trail

Project management
Promenade along the river banks
Public art
Landscape heritage
Flood zone
Landscape engineering

Client :
Communauté urbaine
du Grand Lyon

BASE – Team representative
+ SOTREC + DVVD + HYDRATEC + Champalbert + ON

Lyon / Rhône
Budget / 5,3 M€
Distance / 1,9 km
Completion / 2014

The project is rooted in a overall desire to make the river banks of the Saone accessible to the wider public, as well as a piece of public artwork at a territorial scale.

The project developed by BASE creates a pathway contrasting with the water, offering the user a special relationship to the landscape of the Saone. It offers opportunities for observation and immersion in the landscape; to access the river, to be nearer to the water or even to stroll above the river on pontoons. The main principle is to create biodiverse river banks which people can easily access and cohabit.

The natural path downstream from the centre of Lyon is linked to the pathway, creating continuity and developing connections between the city and the wider environment. The site is like a natural dynamic live organ which changes in physiognomy and richness at the whim of the Saone. The landscape is based on a foundation of existing vegetation and landscape structures. The Lyonnais people can begin to rediscover the riparian landscape; it is a space where nature can reclaim its territory, a space of poetry, meeting, promenade and relaxation.

Rivers & coastline – other projects :