After the garden at the Tourist Office next to Amiens cathedral in 2015, the Art, Cities & Landscapes Festival has left the Hortillonnages site incorporate the city and its surrounding areas. Along with the project in Long in the Somme department, this new ephemeral garden is presented by the Green Spaces Department of the City of Amiens – Amiens Métropole. Located on the forecourt of the Maison de la Culture, it offers an invitation to discover the festival and linger in the open air in the city centre, before entering the hall of the cultural institution which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. This garden is a preliminary version for a public contract which will be carried out next year, when there will be considerable reconstruction work in the city linked to the arrival of the high level bus service. It will be more eco-friendly and tranquil, and pedestrians will be able to move around in a verdant setting which will add to the city’s charm and become one of its assets. Engrenage is therefore a garden which leads the walker to ask questions: What place does culture have in the city? What types of transport should I use? How should space be used? Where can I stop, rest, relax or connect to the Internet? What will remain and what will disappear? All essential questions represented by a set of gears where intertwined wooden structures reveal a variety of vegetation. A garden under construction so you can imagine what the garden of tomorrow will be…

The Green Spaces Department, directed by Gersende Frère plays a central role offering expertise and advice, which consists in defining the broad outlines for the development of green spaces in Amiens and the Metropolitan area, one of the main assets of the conurbation. The department is in charge of the installation and maintenance of 276 hectares of parks, gardens and green spaces in Amiens. These spaces, designed with a regard for sustainable development, are places where families can get together and social occasions and community events can be enjoyed. It should be noted that since 2013, Amiens has held the “Quatre Fleurs” label.