The residents of an apartment block have commissioned a duo of artists to accompany its renovation and celebrate the richness of plant life.
Built in 1993 by architect Jean-Claude Delorme for “Toit et Joie”, the social housing branch of the Poste Group, the Paris Boinod building in Paris’s 18th arrondissement comprises 50 apartments. In 2023, it underwent major renovation work, overseen by the architect himself.
The building is organised around a central courtyard, that residents see as inhospitable to living things: too hot, too dry, lacking shade. Nothing grows, and even the few urban animals that might visit are not there. Acknowledging the challenges of maintaining a garden within an urban apartment complex, and the housing association’s inability to maintain a real garden space, the idea of a sculptural garden to celebrate plants emerged — and won the commissioners’ support.
The artist duo Xolo Cuintle, founded in 2020 by Romy Texier and Valentin Vie Binet, was selected to carry out this commission. They proposed the installation of a series of concrete and ceramic sculptures forming a vegetal frieze — a herbarium composed of species chosen by the residents themselves. Taken together, these species create an ecosystem, a floral and botanical portrait of the community. Like a botanical garden, the work highlights the relationships and symbioses between companion species.
