Belval: contemporary urban planning promotes heritage and reinvents it
In Belval, AGORA has not been satisfied with just promoting the conservation of the former steel installations of ArcelorMittal (formerly Arbed). From the very first reflections on the future of the site, it became clear that they should play a key role in urban life. They had to be given…
The future Central Square district, the vibrant heart of the Square Mile
Let's jump forward three years on the calendar: here we are in 2023. You are a proud new resident of Central Square. The sun caresses the picture windows of your apartment, immersing the kitchen in a warm light in the early morning. Through the window the blast furnaces are thrown…
The University of Luxembourg, a Belval gem on the international scene
A hundred years ago, the worker in the “belly” of the steel mill had no idea that a century later his great-granddaughter would be able to walk on the same floor to take advanced university courses at a multilingual international university. Amazing. But basically not so different from the migratory…
Terrasse des Hauts-Fourneaux, a symbol of the past which has become a flagship quarter
They can be seen more than 10 kilometres away. The closer you get to the blast furnaces, the more spectacular their shimmering cylindrical structures and sky-scraping cages appear. And yet they remain a model of sobriety of its type. There has been no reduction in number of pipes in which…
Urban mobility: car-free cities?
What are the issues for urban mobility within the Belval quarter? "The project was born in 2001 and at that time the subject of mobility was already very important," declares Thomas Rau immediately. There was real demand from the municipalities concerned to reduce private transport. Their fears were that the…
From Belval to Rodange, AGORA anticipated the development of the South
Conducted by the Luxembourg government and ArcelorMittal in 1997, three years before the creation of AGORA, the AGIPLAN study identified a development potential on ten or so sites totalling 650 hectares of industrial wasteland. An area five times bigger than Belval's. A huge territory to reinvent. AGORA has been working…