1937-2014

The French landscape architect Michel Corajoud was born in 1937 in Annecy, a commune in the Haute-Savoie. After studying at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris he began working at the studio of Bernard Rousseau – former collaborator of Le Corbusier – where he met Jacques Simon, who would teach him the basics of landscaping. Corajoud collaborated with Henri Ciriani and Borja Huidobro, with whom he designed the Parc Jean Verlhac in Villeneuve, Grenoble, a forerunner of the projects completed later with his wife, Claire Corajoud: from the riverfront of Bordeaux to the landscaping in Renzo Piano’s project at Notre Dame du Haut, passing through the Parc du Sausset in Seine-Saint-Denis. Aside from his professional commitments he also developed a long career as teacher, with a determining role in transforming the École Nationale d’Horticulture into the new École Nationale Supérieure de Paysage in Versailles, institution to which he was attached for 37 years, and from which he helped to dignify his field thanks to a broad perspective combining the meticulous study of urban spaces with the passion for rural landscapes.