Landscape & Urban Design Issue 20 2016 | Page 50

christian préaud Michel Racine - Garden historian, landscape designer, urban planner and architect, writer, author of numerous works about garden history and art. Director of the “département de formation continue” at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage of Versailles. T here’s something new yet eternal in how Christian Préaud conceives and creates a garden. It comes down to his journey which is reminiscent of garden designers who manage to draw on the skills they have gained over the course of life experiences. At’s why I’m convinced that Christian Préaud uses his insight as a landscaper, architect, painter and gardener to bring together the expertise and knowledge of a 21st century landscape architect. 50 Landscape & Urban Design Issue 20 Yet, if you look at some successful references, you cannot think of a Tuscan Renaissance garden without its villa, a Baroque garden in Ilede-France without its country retreat or Gertrude Jekyll’s cottage garden without its connection to her friend Edwin Lutyens’ architecture. And vice versa. Christian is among those who have unders- tood that the garden, architecture and graphic arts must be conceived in synergy like a happy space. A professional and a friend. A rare bird nowadays.