Parc Dräi Eechelen

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Parc Dräi Eechelen

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

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Draï Eechelen Park is located some six hundred meters from the urban center of the city of Luxembourg as the crow flies. The heights of the park, overlooking deep valleys, were initially created by the military engineer Vauban, and have over the years undergone successive reinforcements and transformations, creating today a stunning example of three centuries of military engineering. Beginning in the 1990s, the site was the subject of a cultural development program that sought to renovate and highlight its value as part of the historical heritage. In 2006, the MUDAM was inaugurated, the Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art, designed by Ieoh Ming Pei.

With its eight hectares extending from Europe Square all the way to the rail tracks far below, Draï Eechelen Park belongs to an immense landscape composed notably of wooded hills and an actual plateau, an empty clearing. In view of the presence of many geometrically powerful and complex buildings and works of architecture, the natural character of the landscape contrasts sharply with the rapidly expanding urbanized neighborhood of the Kirchberg plateau surrounding.

The project is distinguished by its minimalist intervention, inspired by the very specific topography of the site. Grading was carefully defined in order to create a new dialogue between the contemporary circumstances and the archeological remains. Located in the heart of the historical configuration, the clearing reacquired its distant and wide visibility, visible now even from the old city. The contours of the park were redesigned through a precise reworking of the edges. Large solitary trees here and there dominate the plain.

Access to the park is provided by a large mineral ramp heavily planted, creating an intimate link between Europe Square and the wooded surroundings. Its paving using grassed joins appears not so much as a surfacing but as a landscape. The large semi-urban square in front of MUDAM, where pine and beech trees are judiciously arranged, is a pleasant location whose layout also makes possible the organization of all kinds of events. It spreads over about four thousand square meters on either side of the museum's axis.

The arrangements and interventions, through their simplicity, facilitate the legibility of the site despite its great complexity. What has been carried out remains unseen.           

data
Year:
2000 to 2009
Status:
Built
Program:
Parks, Cultural
Client:

Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

Project Team:

MDP Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (lead consultant)
Schroeder et associés, 
Felgen et associés, 
Pei Partnership Architects
ARCOOP, 
SECOLUX a.s.b.l, 

Area:

8 ha (19,7 acres)

  • Award: Prix luxembourgeois d’architecture 2011

  • Nombre of trees: 500
    2 ha (4,9 acres)of perennial plant
    1,5 ha (3,7 acres) of lawns and meadows
    2 km of pathways