The Domaine de Mariemont is a unique place where culture and nature meet, but it is currently in a state of disrepair and underutilised. The French Community, in collaboration with Wallonia, is planning an ambitious landscape and architectural project for which it has organised a competition under the guidance of its Architecture Unit. The competition was won by the team comprising Ledroit Pierret Polet Architects/Witherford Watson Mann/Pigeon Ochej Paysage (LPPA / WWM / POP). Back to the future!

The Domaine de Mariemont can boast a long and prestigious history, of which it still bears many traces. It began in the 16th century with the construction of a hunting lodge by Mary of Hungary, sister of Charles V, before becoming a royal residence under Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella. After a brief spell as a spa resort in the early 18th century, the estate returned to the new governor of the Netherlands, Prince Charles of Lorraine, who demolished most of the old castle to build a sumptuous residence… which would burn down just a few decades later, during the turmoil of the French Revolution.