Formerly a massive parking lot, the 9-hectare Zuidpark (South Park) is now a spacious green area and square for the public to enjoy. Tractebel's designers and engineers were instrumental in the innovative design, from concept through completion.
The story of Zuidpark began in 2015, when Tractebel, in collaboration with Georges Descombes and ADR architects from Geneva, won the 2015 international design competition for the redevelopment of Antwerp's old south docks area. After the docks were demolished and filled in in the 1970s, the large vacant space mainly served as a giant parking lot. Fast-forward to the present, and the inauguration of the new Zuidpark on May 17, 2024: The parking lot was rebuilt underground, and the area is now a splendid climate-proof urban oasis.
Tractebel's Infrastructures - Urban team, Tractebel company IMDC and partners were responsible for designing the 9-hectare park, which is divided into three main sectors - two green areas with a square between them - as a nod to the three docks which occupied the space decades ago. The teams have worked in close collaboration since client the City of Antwerp entrusted them with the design nearly a decade ago. The revitalization of the docks area involves an innovative water collection and reuse system, an integral part of the design of this new public space. IMDC worked alongside Tractebel's hydraulic team to develop the rainwater recovery well and the collection of rainwater for reuse.
Zuidpark, in Antwerp, Belgium, was inaugurated on May 17, 2024
