ANTWERP: Train & walk

Guides: Ursula WIESER and Martin DERAEDT

Meeting point : Brussels Central Train Station

9:04   Train departure

9:51     Arrival in Antwerp 

Walk through historic Antwerp City centre, stop-off at landscape architecture projects on the way.

11:00   approx.: arrival at Park Spoor Noord

Visit of the park.

Lunch at the Park’s restaurant at 12.30

13:30 Walk to Schengenplein neighbourhood (approx. 15 minutes) : visit of several parks/squares

15:00 departure for new Dock district

15:15 : arrival at Napoleonkaai / MAS-Museum aan de Stroom: visit of the revitalized dock district (urban regeneration)

15:45 : Tram back to Antwerp Central Station, 16:30 approx. return to Brussels

OR for those who wish to continue:

15:45: Bus to Zuidpark, arrival approx 16:15

Visit of the park

Tram back to Antwerp Central Station (approx. 25 min.), return to Brussels

Guide: Benoît MORITZ

Meeting point : Place Flagey plein at 08:30

Walk through Charleroi city-centre, stop-off at landscape architecture projects on the way : 
– Parvis de la Gare and Rives de Sambre, landscape architects : Dessin & Construction 
– Les Quais,  landscape architects : L’Escaut
– place Verte,  landscape architects : MSA
– Campus Ville Haute : Bas Smets

12:30 Lunch at the L’EDEN cultural centre
 
13:30 : Start of the bus tour 
– Place Jules Destrée, Jumet, landscape architects  : Central
– Place Crawhez, Dampremy, landscape architects : Charleroi Bouwmeester + Igretec + Masterplan Dampremy Quartier Nature, landscape architects : Michel Devisgne 
– Terril du Martinet, landscapte architects : Dessin & Construction 

17:00 – 17:30 : end of the walk > bus to Brussels

18:30 :  Brussels

PS : During the day, depending on the weather condition, we’ll be climbing above a slag heap. 

Between 19th Century Parc Development and 21st Century European Urban Landscape – along the Maelbeek River

Guides: Didier Vancutsem (ULB) + Etienne Matagne (Guide itinéraires sur les sentiers de l’histoire)

9:30 Meeting point: Entrance Park “Bois de la Cambre” – Avenue Louise Ixelles

Context and History of Brussels and Belgium, History of King Leopold II and its reign, History of Urban Development Avenue Louise.

Jardins du Roi Ixelles

Following the opening of Avenue Louise and the urbanization of the district, the site (1.59 ha) was purchased by King Leopold II on September 16, 1873 to the Société de l’Avenue Louise, a subsidiary of the Compagnie immobilière de Belgique. The park was designed in 1873 by Victor Besme, road inspector for the suburbs of Brussels.

Jardins Abbaye de la Cambre – Gardens of the La Cambre Abbey

La Cambre Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery that was founded in 1201 by a Benedictine woman. Marvel at the buildings that once made up the site, including the Gothic church, the cloister, and the chapel of Saint Boniface. The gardens were created in the French style at the beginning of the 18th century and have become the setting for La Cambre graduate and postgraduate school for the arts. With a total surface area of approximately 5 ha, they were laid out in the French style around 1720 and restored in neo-Renaissance style by the landscape architect Jules Buyssens in 1927. They are organized into five successive terraces, the main access to which, from the south courtyard, begins with an imposing entrance formed by a double staircase in the Louis XIV style.

Etangs d’Ixelles – Ixelles Pounds

Developed as an extension of the gardens of La Cambre Abbey and a high-standing residential area in the 19th Century, the Ixelles ponds are a pleasant place in an architecturally rich neighbourhood, with houses and facades of varying styles: Art Nouveau and Art Deco, neo-classical, Flemish Renaissance and Gothic.

Place Flagey

The area comprising the Place Eugène Flagey was covered by the Ixelles Ponds until 1860 when one of the original ponds was drained as part of a new urban design. Beginning in 2002, the square was extensively renovated. Prior to the renovation, it had been primarily used as an open-air parking lot. The project was infamously delayed many times and all activity had to grind to a halt for sometimes months on end. The plans were remade in 2004, partially on the demand of the local residents’ association. Among their demands were the complete elimination of above ground parking in the square. The original plan was not deemed ambitious enough and a new competition was launched for international bids from different architects. Latz&Partner and

D + A International won the contract; the square has been last year 2023 redesigned with more green (by Kollektif Landscape, Belgian landscape architects).

Rue Gray

The Rue Gray is exactly placed above the river Maelbeek, which is flowing in a water canal. A lot of ecological problems were connected to the river in the last years; several measures were achieved. We will also visit citizens initiatives of collective gardens along the Graystreet.

Parc du Viaduc

An unknown small urban park in Brussels, designed by D+A consult with some actual and some traditional landscape design aspects.

13:00 Lunch Place Jourdan

The Place Jourdan is part of the Maelbeek River valley, and at the edge of the European Quarter. It’s the place where Eurocrats are living and meeting local citizens. The place has been recently redesigned and became a large pedestrian area. It has the most famous Belgian fries place of all Belgium (“Friture Antoine”).

Leopold Park

The Leopold Park (French: Parc Léopold) is a public park of 6.43 ha located within the Leopold Quarter (European Quarter) of Brussels, Belgium. It is adjacent to the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Parliament. The outstanding feature of the park is its pond, fed by the Maelbeek river. Many rare trees (remnants of a botanic garden) and animals such as mallards, moorhens, coots, and even Egyptian geese and rose-ringed parakeets thrive in this urban environment. The Park was originally designed as a horticultural garden and Zoo, became later a part of university campus sponsored by Ernest Solvay and Paul Héger (ULB).

There are in the park still remarkable buildings such as the Former Solvay Library and the Former Solvay School of Commerce.

European Quarter

That’s the place where you can find almost all European institutions, such as European Commission and its Directorate Generals, the European Parliament and any other lobbying or representative organisations: it’s a vibrant and active area with meeting places, open air cafes, with European flair.

Square Marie-Louise / Ambiorix

The Ambiorix, Marie-Louise and Marguerite squares are located in the former valley of the Maelbeek river, near the European Quarter. They are located in the so-called “squares” district, which is architecturally rich thanks to its neo-renaissance, neo-gothic and Art Nouveau houses, which intermingle with the eclecticism. Water is the primary element of this cascade of parks and is integrated into each of them, reconstituting the old course of the Maelbeek. Remarkable houses such as Hotel van Eetvelde and Saint-Cyr House are perfect examples of Art Nouveau (Architect Victor Horta).

Rond-Point Schuman – project presentation

The Robert Schuman Roundabout is in the centre of Brussels’ European Quarter. The major buildings next to it are the Berlaymont building (headquarters of the European Commission), the Justus Lipsius building (used to hold low-level meetings of the Council of the European Union and provide office space to the Council’s Secretariat) and numerous other EU offices. The Roundabout Schumann is currently under transformation: the design by the architectural offices COBE and BRUT is the result of an architectural competition. It is based on the design of concentric circles that increase in size throughout the project area. In the centre of the new space, an emblematic meeting place is created by shaping the land into a bowl. This bowl is overhung by a majestic canopy. Around the central agora, a large pedestrian area is created. A vast pedestrian area is thus created, stretching from the Cinquantenaire Park to the Loi Bridge. The whole area will be treated in a homogeneous and green manner.

18:00 End of the Excursion

Total Distance of the tour: 5,8 km

Lloyd Georgelaan, 1000 Brussel, Belgium to Parc du Cinquantenaire, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

Walk 5.8 km, 1 hr 21 min

The reclaiming of public space and the economic, infrastructural and social transformations of Brussels’ urban fabric from the 19th century to the present day.

9:30 Meeting point : Place du Châtelain Ixelles / Tour synopsis – a brief overview of urban planning in Brussels

9:45 Place du Chatelain visit of the development project designed by Tak Tyk  https://taktyk.net/PLACE-DU-CHATELAIN-IXELLES

10H30 Place Morichar visit of the development project designed The Atelier Collectif Architecture

11:15 Parc Pierre Paulus visit of the development project designed by Du Paysage

https://www.dupaysage.be/projet28.php?num_projet=28&num_photo=0&sup_infos=0

11:45 Place Marie Janson  visit of the development project designed by VVV and Studio Paola Vigano– including the temporary occupation scheme run by the Toestand collective

https://vvvarchitectes.be/plaine-Marie-Janson

https://toestand.be/en/projects/afgelopen-projecten/marie-moskou

12:30 Parvis de Saint-gilles visit of the development project designed by Bas Smets

Projects

13:00 Lunch around the Parvis de Saint-Gilles

14:00 Walk through the Parc des Brigittines via the Porte de Hal and the  Place du Jeu de Balle (Marolles)

14:45 Parc des Brigittines  visit of the development  project  by La Général Assemblée d’Architectes

https://brusselsarchitectureprize.be/fr/project/jonction-urban-park

15:30 Walk to the Bourse via Place Fontainas and Boulevard du Centre

Visit of the pedestrianisation project for the boulevards in the centre designed by SUM & Greisch

https://www.sum.be/kopie-van-central-lanes

16:30 BOURSE end of the walk

Guide: Julie MARTINEAU

Walk from Brussels outskirts to the inner city following the river Molenbeek valley.

9.30  : Meeting Point : Brussels Midi Railway Station hall by Platform 7 (escalator 7)

9.57  : Train departure to Alost-Jette (train number S10 2059)

10.17 : Stop at Berchem-Sainte-Agathe station

10:30 : Zavelenberg : meadow on previous sand quarry

11:15 : Ganshoren marshes

11:45 : Roi Baudouin Parks (3,2,1)

12:30 : Lunch at Baudouin park (1)

14:00 : Foyer jettois surroundings (Suède 36)

https://www.suede36.be/fr/content/la-charni%C3%A8re

14:15 : Pannenhuis park (Landinzicht)

http://www.landinzicht.org/publieke-ruimte/pannenhuispark/

14:30 : Park farm (Taktyk)

https://taktyk.net/Parckfarm

15:00 : Tour & Taxis site

Projects

16:30 : Quai des Materiaux Park (on going)

17:00 : Kanal (TBC) End of the walk