Park La Caisserie

Ans, an autonomous district of Liège with a mining past, is being given an extraordinary opportunity. The disappearance of an old crate factory has released an enclosed terrain of more than 6,000 m2. This makes it possible to add a secret green oasis to the neighbourhood. The new Park La Caisserie is situated between the back gardens of the neighbourhood and is laid out around two concrete floors of the former factory buildings. These floors and other architectural remains are incorporated and transformed in the design and give the park an identity rooted in the local cultural history. Our design was the winning design competition entry.

Three entrances from different directions – a fourth entrance may be added at a later stage – ensure perfect accessibility from the residential neighbourhood. These entrances are partly green corridors and each has a character of its own determined above all by the planting with particular trees and flowers. With each changing season they will yield surprises with their wealth of colours, scents and shapes. In the northern entrance the 5-metre columns of one of the factory buildings will be reused to form a pergola. New fencing and gateways have been designed for the openings in the existing walls around the park. These windows will arouse the curiosity of passers-by. The ground floor of the empty villa in the Rue de l’Yser will be turned into one of the entrances to the park. It could also be used to accommodate other park-related functions such as a café. The entrances form the gateways and reinforce the classical idea of the enclosed garden.

The play islands of grass and the little playground invite people to use the park. There is also plenty to discover there: mini-gardens in the concrete floors, the rock garden, the pergola with its climbing plants, a variety of textures, and the attractive flowering plants.