What is it about?
The intersection of rue Albert De Meyer and rue Pannenhuys, currently a grey and mineral traffic zone, will be transformed into a green square by the City of Brussels. The cross road will be closed and reserved solely for residents to access their garages. To optimise the use of space, four parking spaces will be removed.
The project focuses on creating a pleasant meeting space, with maximum greenery and improved water infiltration. At present, only 0.8% of the surface is permeable. The project involves the complete elimination of soil sealing across 204.6 m², thereby increasing the surface area available for natural water infiltration by 34%. Seven new trees will be planted to reduce the urban heat island effect.
The existing concrete paving stones will be fully reused in the redevelopment. In the centre of the square, linear cement concrete benches will be installed, visually extending into the paving to provide a playful approach to height differences. In addition, a children's piles course will be set up to encourage play.
What purpose?
This project meets the following ambitions and objectives:
- To develop the green network and support active modes of transport and biodiversity
- To rebalance and diversify the uses of public spaces
- To improve the safety and quality of public spaces for the purposes of living and environmental resilience
- To develop a strategy to reduce soil sealing in the City of Brussels and make its public spaces greener
- To strengthen the resilience of the Molenbeek catchment area in light of the growing risk of flooding by integrating rainwater management into development policies in an optimum manner
- To incorporate inclusiveness criteria into public spaces from the design stage
- To ensure accessibility to all modes of transport for people with reduced mobility
- To respond to the shortage of play areas
