Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
  • Alerts
  • ASLA Research Grant
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Landscape Journal
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Landscape Journal

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
  • Alerts
  • ASLA Research Grant
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Visit uwp on Facebook
Research ArticleArticles

Bercy’s “Jardin de la Mémoire”

Ruin, Allegory, Memory

Amanda Shoaf Vincent
Landscape Journal, January 2010, 29 (1) 36-51; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.29.1.36
Amanda Shoaf Vincent
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

The Parc de Bercy may be interpreted in light of the descriptive name given its design by creators Bernard Huet, Marylène Ferrand, Jean-Pierre Feugas, Ian Le Caisne, and Philippe Raguin. Constructed on the former site of wine warehouses in southeast Paris as “Jardin de la mémoire,” its elements refer to the history of its site. Its ruins and restored buildings blend with contemporary features, suggesting a process originating in philosopher Walter Benjamin’s theory of allegory. Benjamin linked the accumulation and perception of meaning in ruin and allegorical devices in such a way that allegorical ruin not only catalyzes nostalgic memory but also opens a path to future meaning. Philosopher Jean Lauxerois has addressed the melancholic strain of allegorical ruin in relation to gardens, while literary critic Craig Owen has offered updated formulation of Benjamin’s understanding of allegory’s creative potential. This interpretation of the ruins and by extension the entire park as allegory reveals both its focus on remembering and its openness to new accumulations of meaning and history. Its design process likewise may be considered an allegorical effort to bring forth new meanings based on preexisting detail. French landscape theorist Sébastien Marot’s concept of phenomenal transparency supports this view.

  • allegory
  • historic interpretation
  • picturesque
  • urban parks
  • Paris
  • Walter Benjamin
  • © 2010 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Landscape Journal: 29 (1)
Landscape Journal
Vol. 29, Issue 1
1 Jan 2010
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Landscape Journal.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Bercy’s “Jardin de la Mémoire”
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Landscape Journal
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Landscape Journal web site.
Citation Tools
Bercy’s “Jardin de la Mémoire”
Amanda Shoaf Vincent
Landscape Journal Jan 2010, 29 (1) 36-51; DOI: 10.3368/lj.29.1.36

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Bercy’s “Jardin de la Mémoire”
Amanda Shoaf Vincent
Landscape Journal Jan 2010, 29 (1) 36-51; DOI: 10.3368/lj.29.1.36
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • A Tribute to Robert B. Riley 1931–2019
  • Fluid or Fixed? Processes that Facilitate or Constrain a Sense of Inclusion in Participatory Schoolyard and Park Design
  • Diversity and Inclusion by Design: A Challenge for Us All
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • allegory
  • historic interpretation
  • picturesque
  • urban parks
  • Paris
  • Walter Benjamin
UWP

© 2023 Landscape Journal

Powered by HighWire