GEMS World Academy
Etoy, Switzerland
We were appointed as Consultant Landscape Architects and are responsible for designing the landscape masterplan from the initial concept stages through to completion to deliver an efficient, attractive, exciting educational environment which will allow pupils and teachers freedom of movement, accessibility and inclusion.
The design of external spaces responds to the unique landscape setting of the school with viewpoints that take advantage of magnificent vistas towards the picturesque Lake Geneva and the surrounding Alpine mountains. Inspired by the strong lines in the landscape that are formed by the adjacent field patterns and colourful vineyards of the local area, the proposed landscape design is organised around elegant alignments of Lime trees, formal hedges and Espaliers.
Highlights within the scheme include quality sports pitches and facilities, free-play areas, productive orchard gardens and sensory educational gardens. A wildflower meadow, structured coppice thickets and a naturalised hedgerow also reinterpret the local landscape character of the near-by shores of Lake Geneva to increase the ecological biodiversity of the site. As part of the tree planting on the site, a collection of ‘World Oaks’ is proposed, consisting of different species of Oak with origins from around the world celebrating the international background of GEMS education and its students.
Project Info
- Client:
- GEMS Education
- Architect:
- CCHE