With its 2.4 hectares of green space, the Porte de Ninove evolutionary park is a victory over the density of the city, largely thanks to citizen mobilisation. The project by architects from Suède 36 and landscape designers from BASE is based on consultation and proposes an urban meadow open to a variety of uses and activities.

It is easy to walk ‘past’ the Porte de Ninove evolutionary park. Bordered by the canal and the busy Porte de Ninove crossroads, the park is a simple grassy area, planted with a few trees that are too far apart and still too young to be noticed. Drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the urban environment, the green space can go unnoticed. You have to venture into the heart of the grassy area for it to come into its own in relation to its surroundings. A few steps towards its centre and the roar of engines fades away, gradually giving way to the sound of birdsong. There, what appeared to be a vast plain reveals itself to be shaped by subtle variations in level. Concrete slides, through which the ground gradually slopes away, form a series of large concentric circles in tiers. At the heart of this arrangement is a wet garden where rainwater collects.