Belgium

Candidate – Belgium

Submission by: Submission by: AG Vespa, City of Antwerp

Project name: Zuidpark

Design Team: Tractebel – atelier adr sa – Georges Descombes i.s.m. Les Eclairagistes Associés & Erik De Waele

Link: https://www.antwerpenmorgen.be/nl/zuidpark

Short description

The Gedempte Zuiderdokken form a unique open space within Antwerp’s urban space. During the southern expansion of the city at the end of the 19th century, the old citadel was demolished, making way for a new urban district and three harbour docks. Nearly a century later, around 1969, the docks were filled in as harbour activities moved northward. Since then, the reclaimed space had mainly been used as a free parking area and as the site of the annual Sinksenfoor fair.

While the Zuid district evolved from the 1980s onwards into a cultural, creative, and trendsetting neighbourhood, the Zuiderdokken remained a rather uninspiring grey expanse with limited spatial quality. In 2015, important decisions were made: the Sinksenfoor relocated to the Spoor Oost site, and parking was to be moved underground. This opened up the surface area for a complete redevelopment. The City of Antwerp embraced this opportunity with ambition and launched a design competition.

The new Zuidpark in Antwerp is at once a park, a square, and a garden. It restores the historic shape of the docks and creates a vital, climate-resilient green space for the city and its surrounding neighbourhoods. The Zuidpark offers a wide range of atmospheres and functions — it is both a place for diverse urban activities and a piece of nature within the city. The project transforms a former parking and event site into an urban park of more than eight hectares.

a) Social cohesion

Zuidpark transforms a former parking and event site into a vibrant public space, fostering interaction among diverse community members. The park’s design, with three ‘tables’ reflecting the historical docks, creates identifiable meeting points, while plazas and pathways connect the district to the Schelde and surrounding neighbourhoods. Multifunctional spaces include playgrounds, sports areas, and open lawns that accommodate cultural events, school activities, and community gatherings. Schools and local cultural institutions actively participated in defining the park’s use, ensuring it meets local needs. A participatory design process, including citizen input and co-creation, reinforced ownership and inclusivity. Strategic seating, picnic tables, and accessible layouts promote informal encounters. By encouraging interaction across age, cultural, and socio-economic groups, the park strengthens neighbourhood identity, belonging, and safety, contributing significantly to social cohesion in Antwerp’s South district.

b) Biodiversity

The park prioritizes layered vegetation to enhance urban biodiversity. Existing plane trees were preserved or relocated, while new trees, shrubs, and perennials provide structural and seasonal diversity. Northern and southern ‘tables’ include flowering, edible, and aromatic plants inspired by Flemish city gardening traditions. Meadows are managed with varied maintenance regimes, allowing bulbs and grasses to bloom diversely. Rain gardens, water buffers, and semi-permeable areas create habitats for birds, insects, and pollinators. The existing plane trees are complemented with oak, linden, Norway maple, and elm. This strategy was approved together with a dedicated long-term maintenance plan, ensuring lasting ecological value. The careful selection and management of plantings foster resilience, increase species richness, and integrate natural systems into the dense urban environment, transforming Zuidpark into a dynamic green corridor for biodiversity.

c) Economic factors

By transforming an underutilized parking and event area into a multifunctional park, Zuidpark increases property appeal and supports local economic activity. Event-ready plazas, open lawns, and recreational facilities attract visitors, benefiting nearby businesses and hospitality sectors. The park’s design supports cultural programming, temporary markets, and school use, creating diverse revenue opportunities. A groundbreaking procurement model split ‘green’ and ‘grey’ contracts, empowering landscape contractors and stimulating the local green economy. Investment in sustainable infrastructure reduces long-term maintenance costs while ensuring multifunctional land use. The integration of underground parking optimizes space and balances economic, social, and ecological benefits. Zuidpark demonstrates how well-designed green infrastructure can generate both financial and social returns.

d) Climate

Zuidpark strengthens climate resilience through extensive greenery, shade, and innovative water management. A 1.5-meter soil layer above the underground parking supports robust tree growth, while 508 new trees, 13,500 m² of grass, and 9,000 m² of shrubs enhance cooling and air purification. The water system captures rain from roofs, streets, and the surrounding neighbourhood, storing it in underground and surface buffers for irrigation and municipal use. Water features and vegetated surfaces mitigate flooding, absorb heat, and improve microclimate. Seasonal planting and layered vegetation maintain a dynamic, adaptable landscape. By integrating shading, evapotranspiration, and buffer capacities, the park addresses urban heat, drought, and flood challenges—anticipating the ambitions later formalised in Flanders’ Blue Deal—and contributes directly to Antwerp’s climate adaptation strategy.

e) Wellbeing of visitors/users

Zuidpark offers spaces for both active and passive recreation, learning, and social interaction. Playgrounds, water features, sports fields, community gardens, and quiet pockets support a wide range of activities, from physical exercise to relaxation. Large lawns and plazas accommodate school programs, cultural events, and informal gatherings. Shaded canopies, pergolas, and semi-permeable paths provide restorative experiences and mental health benefits. Inclusive design ensures accessibility for people with disabilities, while diverse programming fosters intergenerational and intercultural engagement. By offering safe, attractive, and flexible urban green space, Zuidpark promotes physical health, stress reduction, and overall wellbeing for residents and visitors alike.

f) Selection, origin, and quality of products and materials

Plantings were selected for ecological resilience, seasonal interest, and historical compatibility. Native and non-native species complement the existing plane trees, while northern and southern tables feature diverse tree forms and sizes, ensuring structural richness. Edible and flowering species reflect Flemish city garden traditions and community engagement. A 1.5-meter soil layer ensures tree vitality, while engineered substrates and drainage systems secure longevity. Bluestone and stone elements unearthed during construction were reclaimed and reused in rain gardens, quiet gardens, and terraces, minimizing waste and honouring sustainable principles. Vegetation management plans guarantee long-term biodiversity, climate resilience, and cost-effective maintenance. Materials and plantings were thus chosen to balance ecological, aesthetic, and functional performance within the site’s historical and environmental context.

g) Overall design

The design interprets the geometry of the former docks through three ‘tables’: Schippersdok as open lawns for gatherings, Kooldok and Steendok as greener gardened areas for play, sports, and water features. The surrounding ‘crown’ forms a dense, shaded tree canopy that creates a cool urban microclimate. Three plazas provide clear visual and functional links between the Schelde and the South district. Pockets, pergolas, fountains, and pathways invite diverse experiences. The design enhances the readability of the historical dock structure, balancing heritage with multifunctionality, inclusivity, and ecology. Careful spatial planning accommodates schools, events, recreation, and quiet reflection—creating a coherent, contemporary park that blends history, nature, and urban life.

h) Impact on the environment

Zuidpark demonstrates a holistic, circular approach to environmental design. Rainwater from roofs, streets, and the surrounding neighbourhood is captured, filtered, and stored in 1,500 m³ underground reservoirs, surface gardens, and deep meadows, and reused for irrigation and municipal cleaning. Green spaces lower temperatures, improve air quality, and strengthen ecological networks. Reused construction materials reduce waste, while layered vegetation supports biodiversity. Soil engineering and drainage systems ensure sustainable growth. Integrating ecological, hydrological, and social systems, Zuidpark enhances resilience to climate stressors while minimising resource use—serving as a model for environmentally responsible urban regeneration.

i) Innovation value

Zuidpark exemplifies innovation through integrated water management, participatory design, and heritage interpretation. As part of the European SPONGE 2020 programme, the park features a collective rainwater reservoir, tree irrigation systems, and potential greywater reuse. A pioneering procurement method split green and infrastructure contracts, while the integration of the BAFO procedure for underground parking with the Open Call for surface design ensured coherence and quality. Extensive public participation and co-creation shaped programming and design. The historical dock layout was reinterpreted to combine climate adaptation, biodiversity, and social cohesion. Zuidpark thus stands as a forward-looking example of resilient, inclusive, and multifunctional park design for dense urban contexts.