studio baudequinmaldes’ sensory installations interact poetically with nature in france

Studio Baudequinmaldes Builds Tactile Encounters with Nature

The Petites Inventions du Paysage project by Studio Baudequinmaldes consists of a set of three devices and a micro-architecture, inviting walkers to interact sensitively and poetically with nature’s micro phenomena. Located at the heart of the Petit musée des plantes sauvages comestibles, a rural and forested environment in Berrac in the south of France, these interactive installations materialize in the form of architectural archetypes such as the Sensory Shelter, the Scent Mill, the Sky Lighthouse, and the Vegetal Fountain. All designed with local materials typical of the region, red clay and pine wood, but also supported and carried by the people of Berrac, who have all, in their own way, participated in the creation of these devices.

Based on the premise that our relationship with the world is deeply embodied and experienced through our senses, we have adopted a methodology that focuses on the corporal and sensorial dimension of experience. This approach leads the designers to consider the landscape as a lived space, imbued with meanings and sensations that shape our experience of and relationship with the world. The place becomes a laboratory for sensitive experimentation, where we gather elements for reflection, materials for thought, to re-articulate our alliances with the landscape and living beings. In this way, the team observes how practices, experiential knowledge, and in situ results intertwine to question our modes of mediation with the ‘natural’ world.

Sensory Shelter is designed to observe weather in its intimacy | all images by Mathieu Maldes

Sensory Shelter and Scent Mill Explore Rain and Scent

The Sensory Shelter offers a moment of tranquility to awaken the senses and invite visitors to listen to the sound of rain. Designed by Studio Baudequinmaldes in harmony with the environment, it offers an immersive experience dedicated to contemplation and daydreaming. Its Douglas fir structure is built on a field of wild mint, and crowned with climbing and aromatic plants. Rainy days reveal the fresh scents of the plants, offering a subtle, soothing atmosphere. The shelter’s roof is designed with a gentle slope so that water flows down the center of it along the inverted chimney. At the heart of the shelter is a brass bowl perched on a mound of intertwined wood that echoes, on a smaller scale, the structure of the architecture. The melody of raindrops falling into the bowl invites visitors to let themselves be carried away by this natural symphony. Walkers are invited to take in this living fragment of the landscape, using all the sensory means at their disposal, as they enjoy the shelter afforded by this device. The Sensory Shelter is designed as a place of rest, where time seems suspended. It brings together the conditions needed to rediscover a form of inner peace amid the hustle and bustle of the outside world. This space offers walkers the opportunity to question our ways of living with sensitivity.

The Scent Mill is a device located at the end of the museum, close to the washhouse and the overflowing spring. In the form of a large transparent tube, open at both ends and anchored in the damp ground, and a red ceramic propeller at nose level, it takes and records an olfactory sample of the site. This olfactory ‘core sample,’ made up of a mixture of air, earth, pebbles, and vegetation, highlights the ghostly presence of smell. Walkers are invited to turn the propeller to immerse themselves in this olfactory maceration. The movements of the propeller, by stirring the air, make it possible to see and breathe in these components imprisoned within the structure. But they also have the opportunity to deposit their own olfactory notes at the bottom of the transparent cylinder: crumpled wild mint, fragmented lemon balm, crushed marsh ache, fragmented bay leaves, among others. So many olfactory elements discovered and collected along the way, testifying to the diversity of the site’s olfactory landscape.

a brass bowl placed in the middle, designed to host water, reflect light, and echo each falling drop

Sky Lighthouse and Vegetal Fountain Invite Pause, Observation

The Sky Lighthouse encourages visual exploration and attention to the different landscapes that make up the sky. At times, the interior of the bowl is tinged with different shades of blue; at others, it is veiled in mist or dotted with moving cumulus clouds. This installation offers a contemplative experience, highlighting the passage of time through the changing hues of the sky. The device invites walkers to perform rotational movements to orient the mirror and observe various meteorological micro-events. The tool frames the sky, like a sensitive lens focused on light, clouds, and the slow pace of change. The Lighthouse acts as a poetic observatory, an instrument for measuring suspended moments, where the sky becomes material for reading, daydreaming, and shared attention.

The Vegetal Fountain is made up of five pieces of red stoneware, inspired by the concept of hanging gardens. This accumulative arrangement creates a vertical planter where the superimposed earth is home to a variety of aromatic plants. Erected high above the ground, this construction allows walkers to fully appreciate the fragrance of the herbs grown. Conceived as a point of elevation at the heart of the landscape, the fountain becomes both a biodiversity support and a sensory device. The plants that grow there are chosen for their olfactory richness, but also for their ability to attract insects and birds, creating a micro-zone of living interaction. The verticality of the installation plays with levels of perception: the sense of smell is set in motion, exploring the different strata of this plant column. It invites us to slow down, to bend over, to breathe. The simple gesture of smelling a plant becomes a ritual of reconnection with the forest, an attention to the subtleties of an ecosystem. The fountain proposes a pause, a suspended moment to perceive the fragility of living things, the discreet beauty of the ordinary world.

a brass bowl left to rain, collecting sounds, vibrations, and ripples, unfolding stories on its surface

when rain hits the ground, the aromas of earth and leaves are released, rising up in Scent Mill’s transparent tube

a manually triggered olfactory device, transforming scented materials into a reconnecting experience

base collects moisture and plant matter, a passive olfactory system activated by rain and evaporation

Sky Lighthouse, a tool for observing the sky, framing clouds, light shifts, and the subtle choreography of weather

activated by movement, the structure guides the gaze, transforming sky-watching into a shared ritual

a slice of sky appears, not above, but within; reflection becomes perception

Vegetal Fountain, a vertical clay garden, brings aromatic plants to be smelled

aromatic plants can be smelled with a funnel

project info:

name: Petites Inventions du Paysage
designer: Studio Baudequinmaldes | @baudequinmaldes

location: Berrac, France

photographer: Mathieu Maldes