A lookout in the taperedThis ambitious project concerning the construction by stages o 1

Aquinze minutes rom downtown Luxembourg, the largest project urban o Europe, launched in spring 2003 on the 120 hectares o brown ield steel o Bel al, is an inno ati e character. "This is a lighthouse on the architectural plan project because the remains o the golden age o the iron and steel are landmarks on the path through this uturistic city where all unctions are integrated with a iew to promoting social di ersity", explains Rolo ütterer, the architect o the Dutch cabinet Jo Coenen & Co., which de eloped the masterplan in compliance with the constraints o the contracting authority.

Technological o er in art and the State wants to make the re erence o its policy or the con ersion o 650 hectares on 10 sites by incorporating the themes o sustainable de elopment. Priority is gi en to the reconquest o industrial soil re-mediated rather than resort to the use o agricultural land to re italize the economy o the country o the Minett, was hit by plant closures in the 1980s.

The company Agora, established in October 2000 with a capital o EUR 28 million by brown ield and Arbed including the State contribution bought hal o shares , has launched this new concept o urbanization. Through dialogue, Jo Coenen & Co. was able to con ince elected o icials o Esch/Alzette (28,000 inhabitants) and Sanen (15,000 inhabitants) o the merits o his ision: a liaison between these cities by creating a tertiary attracti e pole at their periphery. "With this decision, we take orty years to ad ance on the normal de elopment, bonus, a large public park displayed separating the residential areas o the business centre as well as the city o science and culture", welcomed Rolo ütterer, satis ied with this Intermunicipal Cooperation, a irst in the Grand Duchy in terms o urban planning.

At the gates o the Lorraine, the project o Bel al, stretches 2 kilometres long and 600 metres wide, is a strong economic, social, academic, cultural issue. Horizon 2020, it will host 25,000 jobs, o which hal will be occupied by rontier workers o the a ected basins o Longwy and Thion ille, 8,000 students and teachers and 7,000 residents. "It is a uni ying project that builds on enhanced cooperation with the rance in terms o de elopment o the territory, transport and academic exchanges," said incent Delwiche, the Director o Agora.

The creation o a roundabout ser ing a close parking o the station requires an exchange o land between the States which will be endorsed by a treaty. To limit the use o the car on the site to three employees on i e, by bus and rail ser ice will be optimized through the strengthening o the shuttles or the border.

A lookout in the tapered

This ambitious project concerning the construction by stages o 1.3 million square metres o rack, is accompanied by the State, which unds public acilities to the tune o EUR 1 billion. It also represents an opportunity or the capital, Luxembourg, whose expansion is hampered by the scarcity o land supply and the congestion o its routes, to trans er its archi es and some administrati e ser ices.

The terrace o the blast will be the soul o this city o the uture, where the silhouette o two rust grey giants, extinguished since July 1997, o ers a contrast with the light red acade o Dexia (19 loors) Tower designed by Claude asconi, the architect o les Halles in Paris. This lookout to orm tapered at 73 metres in height, connected by gateways in steel and glass on our le els to two buildings, hosts rom now its occupants irst 1,400.

This irst contingent o white collar workers o the Bank joined 120 researchers o the Gabriel Lippmann public research centre, specializing in the physics o materials and nanotechnology, which will be the dri ing orce o the uture Uni ersity o the Luxembourg. Citing science and culture, this district knows an animation so ar limited to concerts gi en at the Rockhal (5.600 seats) equipped with studios recording and a training center which attracted more than 50,000 spectators since its inauguration a year ago. This power ul streamlined public building designed by the architecture O ice Beng o Esch o ers a grey concrete acade opens to large glass bays.

The management o the site is unique because, at each phase, the accomplishment o roads or paths as the illumination o pedestrian walkways lined with trees anticipates any new construction. Pre iously, it took integrate industrial heritage blast and lare gas, ireplaces in red brick, remnants o the agglomeration o ore chain in public space.

A staircase o water

Another imperati e, already 150,000 m3 o spoil rom the canyon dug to build a concrete tunnel (650 m long) are recycled on-site around the plateau o the Holy Spirit, a ormer slag dump re egetated. A boule ard superimposed on this binding two two lane connected in 2009 to the rance and the Expressway in 2012 to Luxembourg irriguera the site with, in the axis, a demi-arche (15 loors) housing o ices.

Nearing completion, the place de L'Agora anthracite coating will be a li ing space at the oot o the restored blast that will house a museum. It opens on a 70,000 m2 complex joint de elopment (o ices, shops, cinemas, restaurants, apartments) whose de elopment is entrusted to the Dutch companies Bouw onds and Multiplan. With his aircra t carrier-like, Plaza 1, decorated with light and anthracite, red tape will be a harmonious re lection o the dominant colors o the site.

The square courtyard, with its technological park, its o ices and its rental apartments (500,000 m2 o buildings) business district, will be launched in 2007. "We are ensuring that the O ice market is not in excess capacity, the olume o transactions not in ol ing 120,000 m2 per year, hal o them in the nine", explains Robert Kocian, Agora Management Ad isor.

Residential Bel al, implanted neighbourhoods in a public park through which meanders a stairway o water ed by an underground ri er, is the appetite or de elopers. Already 6 lots or the construction o houses and adjacent buildings with three loors, or 250 housing on a programme o 2,500 with the HQE label, ha e been attributed to i e o them in a range o prices ranging rom 2,200 to 3,000 euros per square metre.

inally, to promote relations between the generations, the technical school (1,500 students and 300 teachers) and school (300 students), which will open in the back to school 2009, will be close to the retirement home, which is scheduled or 2010.