The Bosco or entrance garden

The Bosco before it was rearranged.

The Bosco is finished, a circular pavement of Veronico tiles surrounds each one of the trees that has been preserved or planted on the lawn.

The Bosco is the only place in the domain where Michel Marot used circular shapes, surrounding each tree with a precious setting.
The forecourt paved with Veronico tiles and marble leads to the great hall in building 3. It begins the north – south axis which runs through and organizes the buildings.

Michel Marot played with the interpenetration of the volumes, spaces and textures.
Façades are crenelated, straight lines have rhythm, the rough concrete highlights the stones, the windows and doors are deeply recessed.
The stairway leads directly to official accommodations, clearly separating the different uses.

An asphalt alley runs around the Bosco. On the ground a circle of Veronico tiles around a tree encroaches on the asphalt. This detail illustrates the process of interrupting and decompartmentalizing shapes and volumes found in all of the Villa Arson.

Veronico tiles shaped like  isosceles triangles have been used around the trees to allow for a circular arrangement. The rest of the domain is covered with truncated right-angled triangles arranged in top-to-tail pairs to create straight lines.

The encroaching circles of Veronico tiles can be seen all over the lawn. Green and mineral elements progressively intermingle, without interruption. The very precise composition creates a fluid effect.

The original olive trees were preserved. In the background two walls have been artificially thickened by adding a bend to create an intimate garden. A large opening gives access to it. This element creates continuity between the greenery and the buildings bearing natural motifs.

This test wall was the first one made using the technique selected for the veneer of the entire domain.
The flat side of the stones looks outwards. When one looks at the wall from the side, none of the stones stick out. The assemblage was made directly on the wall by hand by placing the stones one by one inside a frame.
This technique was abandoned during construction because it was too time-consuming. Initially the stones were calibrated. Because at the end of the construction there were not enough stones, some of the walls of the Villa Arson were covered with smaller stones, sometimes more spaced out.

The forecourt of building 3 is a transition between the circular shapes structuring the Bosco and the rest of the domain with its cubic volumes and straight lines.

The Bosco after its rearrangement. On the left are the housing accommodations for artists in residence notably, on one level with the garden.

The asphalt alley running around the Bosco, and on the right the beginning of the alley of cypresses running along the west side of the buildings.

In the foreground, from left to right, buildings 2 and 1. In the background is the entrance garden called the “Bosco”. Further back is building 3 with the old Villa towering over the domain.

On the right of the forecourt of the great hall entrance, the exhibition spaces of the National Center for Contemporary Art look onto an intimate and shady garden.

The garden is an example of the subtle decompartmentalization of the spaces, characteristic of the entire domain. The abundant greenery of the undergrowth encroaches on the buildings.