Kirchberg Plateau, Luxembourg Urban, landscape and artistic regeneration of the European district

The European district on the Kirchberg is undergoing a long-term urban, landscape and artistic renewal. The aim is to transform the functionalist city of the sixties into a viable cohesive district with a mix of residential, work, education and leisure functions.
The inner-city green model of avenues, squares, gardens and parks structures characteristic quarters along the old Roman road crossing the Kirchberg from east to west.
The spatial reorganization requires urban densification in compliance with ecological goals: the lowest possible surface sealing and targeted rainwater management.

The former agricultural landscape on the plateau of the Kirchberg in Luxembourg has only been settled in recent decades by European institutions, hotel complexes and bank buildings. The Fonds d'Urbanisation et d'Aménagement du Plateau de Kirchberg, a public - legal institution appointed by the ministry, took over the development of the 360 ha area at the beginning of the sixties, initially according to the principle of the "car-oriented and functionalist city":

Oversized intersection-free traffic systems dominated isolated settlement islands and office complexes filled with little urban life.
As a result of the great need for expansion following the enlargement of the European Union, as well as a general rethinking in the urban planning debate, a fundamental urban redevelopment was initiated at the beginning of the nineties.

The most obvious sign of this is the transformation of the Kirchberg - Autobahn into an urban boulevard.
An almost exclusively individual traffic-oriented development system becomes a generous traffic space for pedestrians, cyclists, cars and public transport and connects separate quarters into a lively district.

The boulevard is 60 m wide and 3 km long and extends from the eastern roundabout with the sculpture by Richard Serra to Rue Weicker in the west.
Pillar oaks mark the middle of the profile, they are the backbone of an eight-row avenue with 2 rows of oaks on both sides and flowering trees (city pear, Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer') along the wide walkway and bicycle path in front of the buildings.

The overall concept for the urban, landscape and artistic renewal and development of this young district was developed by the team Jochem Jourdan, Christian Bauer, Peter Latz and the artist Kasper König.

The aim is to create a viable, cohesive district of high identity, with a mixture of residential, working, educational and leisure functions, structured according to the inner-city green model of avenues, squares, gardens and parks.

Originally, this street ran in a straight line from east to west. Today it exists only in parts, it had to make room for buildings and new road systems and crosses only but still the entire Kirchberg - Plateau as a bike and pedestrian path.