Arles, a city in the south of France, is located at the crossroads of three microclimates: the Camargue Natural Park, the Alpilles Natural Park and the Crau Plain. However, the Parc des Ateliers, an abandoned industrial site in the heart of the city, shows no trace of the influence of these surrounding landscapes. A major redevelopment project for this area has been underway for several years in Arles, a city already renowned in the arts, as it hosts the annual Rencontres de la Photographie festival. This new cultural centre, Luma Arles, explores the relationships between art, human rights and the environment. The landscaping project for the site was carried out by Bas Smets, who succeeded in creating the conditions necessary for a green park to flourish, thanks to his solid knowledge of regional microclimates.

Initially, Bas Smets’s firm was faced with a site with an almost desert-like climate. With no protection from the intense summer heat and cold winter winds, it was nothing more than a large, barren concrete platform covering the entire Ateliers park. This was a delicate situation to resolve, which therefore required experimentation. The intervention consisted of creating a future climate, i.e. accelerating the natural process of landscape development.