Renderings of the farm (top),
the hanging gardens (below left) and cottage accommodation
such as France, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany. “With the high-speed rail and air travel
connections, an international clientele can come here to enjoy the recreational facilities,” says Cocquet. “Villages Nature is also for French people who want to combine a visit to Disneyland Paris or Paris. For those who live in the metropolitan area of Île-de-France – a population of 11 million – it’s an escape, a long weekend without travelling far.” The new-generation tourist destination ticks a lot of boxes. Villages Nature is following a sustainable development plan inspired by WWF International’s One Planet Living Framework, making it one of just 10 endorsed One Planet Communities in the world. The framework tracks 10 criteria, including zero waste, sustainable water and a zero carbon footprint. With its own aquifer, enough
geothermal energy will be harnessed to heat not only the resort complex but also the local area of Seine-et-Marne and Disneyland Paris in the long term.
AM 1 2015 ©Cybertrek 2015
KEY FIGURES
900,000 visitors predicted per year 8,000 maximum guest capacity 32 kilometres from Paris 100 per cent geothermal energy
The accommodation and built facilities
are inspired by organic and green architecture. Plants play a major role in the building designs. The grounds will be covered by forest, landscaped gardens and two lakes totalling 15 hectares (37 acres). The built environment accounts for just 10 per cent of the total site.
STAR ATTRACTIONS Storytelling leads the artistic direction, which is steered by Joe Rohde, Walt Disney Imagineering senior vice president. Rohde, who’s worked on the Fantasyland
refurbishment at Disneyland Anaheim, Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Florida and with James Cameron on the upcoming Avatar-inspired attraction, is creating a story for Villages Nature about the human relationship with nature. The AquaLagoon is the star attraction.
Designed by top architect Jacques Ferrier, the 9,000sqm (97,000sq ft) waterpark is set in a towering, tiered pyramid covered with aquatic hanging gardens. Wave pools, slides and waterfalls feature inside, while outdoors there’s a geothermal lagoon for year-round swimming. Architect Lionel de Segonzac designed
the farm and Jean de Gastines designed the accommodation, Cocquet says. Acclaimed landscape artist Thierry Huau, who designed the amusement and botanical park Terra Botanica in Angers, France, worked with Rohde to imagine how this organic city should come to life. “We’ve taken several potent visual metaphors,” Rohde says of the project.
“First is the garden, which gives a sense of nature and mankind working in harmony.
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 25
TOP PHOTO: ©LIONEL DE SEGONZAC ATELIER D’ARCHITECTURE ET D’URBANISME;
T.HUAU/INTERSCÈNE; KREACTION
PHOTO: ©
T.HUAU/INTERSCÈNE; JEAN DE GASTINES ARCHITECTES; KREACTION
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