In early September, the city of Lille unveiled its energy sobriety plan, one measure of which sounded the death knell for the equatorial greenhouse of the Jardin des Plantes. Half a century after its construction, the building, designed by the architect Jean-Pierre Secq, is therefore definitively closed to the public. Well, maybe not definitely.
It is undoubtedly the measure of the city’s energy sobriety plan that has caused the most talk. Nobody was indignant at the nighttime extinction of the lights of public buildings, even less at the drop in the temperature of the swimming pools or the stopping of the watering of the fountains. No, it’s the idea of seeing the equatorial greenhouse emptied of its plants that makes you jump. Moreover, this Sunday afternoon, the Friends of the Jardin des Plantes de Lille are organizing a rally to make their dissatisfaction heard.
What use for this building?
And they are not the only ones who do not appreciate the decision of the town hall, supported by the Botanical Society of France and nearly 5,000 people who have already signed the petition of the collective “Save the greenhouse”. What the “Friends” are calling for is a renovation of the building, so that it consumes less energy, but remains a greenhouse. On the renovation side, the city agrees, because the intention was never to raze the work of Jean-Pierre Secq. Except that the municipality intends to find another use for the building, which remains to be determined.
Still, the “massacre” denounced concerns the collection and not the plants. These will of course not be thrown in the trash, but sent to more welcoming countries.