During the terrible floods that hit Wallonia in July 2021, the Vesdre river burst its banks, devastating large parts of Chênée, near Liège. At the beginning of this year, the team led by landscape architect Michel Desvigne was tasked with creating a park in the flood zone and a new cycle and pedestrian bridge over the river, as well as upgrading the station district on the other side of the river. In doing so, the City of Liège is responding to the question of how flooding can be the source of a different and more sustainable mode of urban development.

Until the beginning of this century, a large copper and zinc factory stood on the left bank of the Vesdre, between the station and the town centre of Chênée, near Liège. When it went bankrupt in 2004, it was decided to redevelop the site and give it a new purpose. The former industrial area was to become a mixed-use area with housing on the waterfront and workplaces near the station, as well as a park for the neighbourhood. After the soil had been remediated, MS-A drew up a master plan integrating the new use of the site into a broader vision for the entire neighbourhood, including a new footbridge over the Vesdre to provide cyclists and pedestrians with a quick link between the station and the town centre. The plan was approved in April 2021, but less than three months later, the region was hit by torrential rain. Large parts of Wallonia were under water, and Chênée was also severely affected. The Vesdre overflowed, the reinforced banks collapsed, two houses and several shops were destroyed, and the water rose to a height of 2 metres in hundreds of houses.