This is the perfect example of a successful collaboration, as we regularly do with creators like my friends James and Helen Basson.

Seduced by their philosophy and their committed creative approach, Martha entrusted them with the design of this 500m2 space, located at the back of the buildings and enclosed by the walls of the commons, the country house and the barn.

James' idea: to interpret the surrounding landscape in a very contemporary way; the fields and their syncopated plots, the landscape punctuated by the canals, the sound and movement of water, the metal of agricultural tools... It is our mission to give body and life to this very cerebral and graphic composition and to create a very unique atmosphere of serenity.

So everything started with a very precise drawing. A plane with millimeter shapes and proportions. Then a harmony to be balanced between materials, colors and sounds. Finally, a clever mix between the living picture and the space of use where, for example, the aisles allow a contemplative journey and where a large space has been created to accommodate the table d'hote and arbor.

The central role of water in the composition was of course the most delicate technical constraint: a 3,000 liter cistern is buried under the garden. Set in motion by four powerful but completely silent pumps, the water flows through a network of steel channels specially made in England. An ingenious overflow system allows its circulation and recovery.

The plants are of local essence: santolines, grasses and sage, planted in a rhythmic manner and ordered in chromatic plots. Trees, stone frames and the height of the steel gutters offer vertical obstacles to this very horizontal arrangement.

The sculptural door, the wrought iron railings and the lighting with flexible copper rods wound on the trunks add the final note.

Everything is in place. Martha's new life can begin.