Jardins physiologiques
Physiological Gardens
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Physiological Gardens operate on the senses, but with an awareness
of the chemical and curative mechanisms that exist between the organism
and the active substances in plants. The garden is designed as a place
of immersion of the body in the body of nature to the point of effecting
a change in metabolism, a chemical alteration of the organism, triggering
physiological interactions between plants and the body, from the mouth
to the stomach, from the skin to the blood, from the nose to the brain.
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First garden : from the epidermis against a limb : a progression
from the softness of the willow seeds to the giant hogweed, bringing about
definite phototoxic reactions.
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Second garden : from sniffing the scent of roses to ambrosia and
its allergenic risks.
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Third garden : eating, with pleasure at first, the sweetness of
strawberries that gives way to a loss of flavor, to belladonna, which causes
tachycardia and urine retention.
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The fourth and last progression, almost psychic, moves from soothing plants such as verbena to hemlock, which causes apnea and asphyxia.
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Les Jardins Physiologiques
Project to improve the grounds of Schlossberg Castle, La Neuveville,
Switzerland
Design contest, December 1999
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Décosterd & Rahm, associés
Collaboration : Jérôme Jacqmin
with Mathias Vust, botanis