Jardin Canal

Since 2008, Agence Ter is working on Belval Park located on the site of a former steelworks in Belval, Luxembourg. The park is the central green space in the conversion area, situated on an artificial plateau formed through industrial utilisation. The park connects new residential, commercial and working spaces and the whole area is returned to nature, people and the landscape, helping to cool and ventilate it. Also, the park is evolving alongside the construction of the quarters and is adapting to the needs of the people who use it.

Visualising the ancient water system

As a part of Belval Park, the linear Jardin Canal -Canal Garden- follows the course of the canalised Wënschelbach stream, which lies eight metres below. Originally a natural stream, the Wënschelbach crossed the site before being diverted and channelled several times due to industrial use. The Canal Garden project brings it back to the plateau.

The Canal Garden is lower than the adjacent areas, acting as a collector for surface water from the neighbourhood. The design plays with colours and shapes as a reference to water and its enormous impact on the landscape. In addition to the designated planting zones, the Jardin Canal offers playgrounds and recreation areas. It is planted with grasses and insect-friendly flowering herbs such as lavender, sage and mint. The result is a high quality, natural recreational area with interesting floral aspects while promoting biodiversity. It is a place to be all year round.

Besides the Canal Garden an urban promenade runs parallel and is lined with seating. Visitors can enjoy the wide few or access to the Park. The Canal Garden serves as a threshold that visitors consciously cross when entering the park. The crossing option is provided by footbridges and various steps, most of them accessible to disabled persons.

The promenade leads visitors to a viewing balcony at the end of the plateau. It offers views over the Wënschelbach which emerges here, to the neighbourhood opposite and the surrounding landscape characterised by spoil tips, topographical edges and artificial watercourses.