La Vallée

After a long journey in search of the ideal place to settle, during which he traveled through fourteen departments and visited thirty-five sites, fate led him in April 1977 to an abandoned plot of land located just a few hundred meters from La Grange.

La Vallée, as he now calls his property, is not only situated next to his former family home, but it is also a place connected to his own childhood: La Vallée des Papillons, the area where Gilles Clément used to wander as a child, drawn by the large number of insects that lived there. It was thanks to these insects that he began to take an interest in plants—and through them, in gardens.

The topography and location of La Vallée did not offer the ideal characteristics for building a house. However, these were not the fundamental criteria that Gilles Clément considered when choosing the land to acquire.

The privacy provided by the existing relief, the vegetation that had grown after several years of abandonment, and the emotional connection he felt to this place were, among other factors, key points in selecting the site and contributed to a perfect harmony with its environment.

With his own hands, he would reconcile the creation of his garden with the construction of his house, despite having no prior experience. The building process triggered a whole series of events that ultimately led to the creation of an internationally renowned garden. But that was not all: his house-garden would become his living space.

Photographs of the La Vallée house-garden. 2015 and the late 1970s.