2014-04-23 – The Tour & Taxisarea is changing fast, and in particular the Brussels-Capital Region is developing a large regional park* there. Landscaped and recreational areas are also planned for the Quai des Matériaux and along the railway line to the north of the site, in the direction of the Belgica, Pannenhuis and Bockstael stations.
Ultimately, a real network consisting of four large green spaces will link Place Sainctelette to Place Bockstael, forming the largest urban park created in central Brussels since the days of Leopold II.
The park will be officially inaugurated on 8 May 2014, when a first section of the park will open to the public. The park’s creation will take place in phases and will be determined by how it is used and how local residents become involved (how they make the park their own and the ways in which they use it), and the projects that follow this first step in the years ahead, relating to buildings, people, activities and so on.
The 2014 Parckdesign festival will be the opening event for the new park. The Parckdesign call for projects this year relates to the ParckFarm concept and the theme ‘From landscape to plate’. After a period of reflection, creation and participation on the part of the designers,the residents of the Tour & Taxis district as well as artists, students, vegetable-growers and urban beekeepers were invited to develop projects integrating elements of food production into the creation of a new urban park.
This whole process will lead to a festival to be held from May to September on the site of the new Tour & Taxis park. During the festival, visitors can discover various award-winning projects and performances based around original artistic and agricultural facilities. The FarmHouse, forming the heart of the festival, will be a permanent forum for discussion and activities. The FarmTruck will serve as a platform for knowledge exchange and as a link between the exhibition venues in Brussels developing innovative approaches to these issues.
Launched in 2006 by Brussels Environment and dedicated in previous years to street furniture in the parks of the Brussels-Capital Region and to the management of urban public spaces, the Parckdesign project call today forms part of a wider process of reflection on the role of the urban landscape and ways of devising new spaces that are more accessible to residents and users.
Practical details
- The inauguration is open to all. Access via Dubrucq bridge – Claessens (route signposted from the Pannenhuis metro station).
- 6 pm: barbecue opens around a huge picnic table with lanterns, brass bands and bar.
- 9 pm: concerts and musical entertainment; illumination of the site according to an original design by the artist Hidde Vanschie; inauguration of the Parckdesign Biennale.
- 10 pm: firework display.
- Midnight: end of festivities.
More information: www.bruxellesenvironnement.be - https://www.facebook.com/Parckdesign
* This new regional park stretches along the old railway line serving the Tour & Taxis site and along metro line 6. It enables the Belgica metro station to be reached from Pannenhuis metro station, and will eventually cross the Tour & Taxis site, ending up at the future Béco park by the canal.
