Sweco Belgium
SWECO BELGIUM, Europe's leading engineering company, is committed to sustainable development and climate resilience. BUUR's urban planning division, active in all 3 Belgian regions, promotes transdisciplinarity and takes up sustainability challenges on Walloon projects.
Overview of the project
The Rives Ardentes
The Rives Ardentes project is an ambitious initiative to transform a former industrial site into a model eco-district for sustainability and urban innovation. The project focuses on creating a living space that integrates advanced ecological solutions while fostering a dynamic and inclusive community.
The emphasis is on sustainable development, with low-energy buildings that use eco-friendly materials and clean technologies. The eco-neighborhood will offer a variety of housing units designed to meet the needs of different demographic groups, while promoting a social mix.
Particular attention is paid to the development of public green spaces, increasing urban biodiversity and providing residents with places to relax and meet outdoors. These green spaces will also play a crucial role in stormwater management, thanks to natural infiltration and water recovery systems, reducing the impact on the sewer system and helping to prevent flooding.
The project’s mobility plan gives priority to soft transport, with the creation of cycle paths and pedestrian walkways, reducing dependence on cars and improving air quality. A tramway line will link the eco-neighborhood to the city center, facilitating access to services and reinforcing its integration into the urban fabric.
Coronmeuse is also aiming for partial food self-sufficiency through urban agriculture, with shared gardens and green roofs that not only produce food, but also contribute to the thermal insulation of buildings.
Urban planning support for municipalities affected by flooding in 2021
Services Publics de Wallonie (SPW) and Sweco have signed a framework contract to provide urban planning and hydrological support to the municipalities of Verviers, Trooz, La-Roche-en-Ardenne, Rendeux and Liège (Vesdre and OUrthe valleys) affected by the 2021 floods. Using an integrated, multidisciplinary approach, the mission aims to increase the resilience of these municipalities by mitigating future flooding through demineralization and integrated water management strategies, while strengthening their environmental performance, reconnecting blue-green meshes and creating ecological corridors (nature-based solutions approach).
Les Rives Ardentes: Development project: a new example of an eco-residential district on the Coronmeuse site for 1300 housing units (under the direction of the NEO LEGIA consortium); Urban planning support for municipalites affected by the 2021 floods: Provide expert support to communes severely affected by the 2021 floods in their resilient territorial replanning.
Ongoing research
Project still in progress
The Rives Ardentes project targets quantitative results to promote urban sustainability. It includes the transformation of 10,750 m² of roads into pedestrian spaces and parks, and the addition of 6,500 m² of greenery. Water management is innovative, with complete on-site infiltration of rainwater to avoid flooding. The planting of 17,000 shrubs, 527 trees, 40,100 perennials and 94,000 bulbs will enrich biodiversity. More than 1,300 energy-efficient homes, public facilities and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, as well as a tramway line, are planned to reduce car use and emissions.
The Rives Ardentes
The Rives Ardentes project in Liège stands out for its major qualitative results: improving the living environment by increasing green areas, strengthening social cohesion thanks to diversified housing, innovative stormwater management favoring biodiversity, and promoting soft mobility with the creation of spaces dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists, thus reducing air and noise pollution.
Urban planning support for municipalities affected by flooding in 2021
Depending on the level of political ambition and local expertise of the targeted communes, certain measures have been :
– integrated into communal strategic plans ;
– legislative integration of certain measures proposed by the study (priority acquisition of private plots and buildings located in flood-prone areas);
– direct implementation of certain flood mitigation measures;
– launch of new calls for projects with the aim of demineralization
– applications for regional or European funding for flood prevention projects
– the creation of a think-tank on measures to be implemented in industrial zones located in flood-prone areas.
The Rives Ardentes project will benefit from substantial financing. Neolegia, one of the main players in the project, is committed to investing 313 million euros in the entire project. In addition, the project will receive a further 25 million euros in financial support from ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funds for the development of public spaces.
organisation
SWECO BELGIUM is a multi-disciplinary engineering firm that plans and designs the cities and communities of tomorrow. With the support of the Sweco international group, we position ourselves in Europe and worldwide as a partner in the transition. With our 1,500 experts based in Belgium, active in 11 offices, we are committed to the search for sustainable and innovative solutions, in order to offer quality services in the fields of engineering consultancy, environmental technology and the technical design of civil and real estate constructions.
in collaboration
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Neolegia
Consortium
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Gesplan
Design Office
The Rives Ardentes: City of Liège, the Walloon Region (DGO1, DGO2) and the Port Autonome de Liège.