Public spaces for the Grünewald Kirchberg | OKRA Landscape Architects

A fragmented orchard, Kirchberg, Luxemburg

OKRA won the competition to design a public space between office buildings in the Gruenewald area of the Luxemburg city borough of Kirchberg. OKRA thought of how to give the fragmented neighbourhood a consistent identity of its own. As the area lacked a clear programme, OKRA chose to come up with their personal programme for an ‘urban orchard’. By planting apple and pear trees, OKRA has attempted to create cohesion between the scattered spaces and buildings. Thus the theme of the ‘edible city’ gives this public space its coherence. The urban orchard consists of many little orchards, each with its own atmosphere – but everywhere passers-by are invited to pick the fruit.

Grünewald Kirchberg, image courtesy OKRA Landscape Architects

Grünewald Kirchberg, image courtesy OKRA Landscape Architects

Site

This design is for public spaces for the Grünewald district, Kirchberg, Luxembourg. The assignment was to create public spaces between apartments buildings.

Grünewald Kirchberg, image courtesy OKRA Landscape Architects

Grünewald Kirchberg, image courtesy OKRA Landscape Architects

Fragments

The orchard stands in a fragmented layout of squares and passages organized in a grid system togheter with buildings and private parcels. The jury awarded the strong identity that the project introduce for this part of the Plateau of Kirchberg and also the gesture towards the rigid atmosphere of the buildings. A gradual change in the types and the densities of plantation creates a high quality link between the higher part of the district, more business and urban a-like, and the southern part, more natural, leading towards the Klosengroendchen park. Different atmospheres of orchard are created to provide a specific sense of place to each areas of the new district. A network of lines bind the different pieces of public space in order to create a narrative and spatial link between each of the existing public spaces fragments.

Grünewald Kirchberg - Master plan, drawing courtesy OKRA Landscape Architects

+ Project credits / data

Project: Public spaces for the Grünewald district, Kirchberg
Location: Kirchberg, Germany
Landscape architect: OKRA Landscape Architects | http://www.okra.nl/
Client: Fonds d’urbanisation et d’aménagement du Plateau de Kirchberg
Nature and dimensions of area: 2.8 Ha
Building costs public space: 150 Euro /m2
Design: 2008
Implementation first phase: starting in January 2009

+ All images and drawings courtesy OKRA Landscape Architects