A new floodwall wall along the river Scheldt is integrated in a linear park. Three large openings, located on the footprint of historic canals, connect the city to its river. Their walls become the support for a monument for the Second World War, merging the remembrance of the victims with the memory of the city.

Year: 2021 – 2027
Client: AG VESPA
Design Team: Bureau Bas Smets
In collaboration with: Antea, ARA, Endeavour, Gijs Van Vaerenberg, Plant&Houtgoed, Steenmeijer Architecten, Util 
Images (6, 7, 8, 9): Luxigon

Seventeen public plazas mark a pathway that connects many historic buildings enlisted on the UNESCO heritage list. The plazas replace disappeared buildings and introduce a new typology of a shaded public space into the dense maze in the historic city.

Year: 2012 – 2019
Client: Ministry of Culture
Landscape Architect: Bureau Bas Smets
Architect: Office KGDVS
Photographs: Michiel De Cleene, Ahmed Al Jishi

The former mineral courtyard of a historical building in central London has been transformed into a lush garden. Measures taken on site revealed a microclimate ideal for the development of large tree ferns. Large stone slabs and a misting system complete this radical transformation, while a Franz West sculpture captures the light.

Year: 2010 – 2011
Client: Private
Landscape Architect: Bureau Bas Smets
Photographs (1, 5): François Halard

The monument is located next to the supermarket where eight people were killed in the last and most terrible terroristic assault of a series in Belgium between 1982 and 1985. The location for the project is an area in between the store and the park, where the memorial finds itself suspended between city and nature. A gradient of polished stones turns from dark red to bright yellow, matching the autumn colour of the eight ginkgo trees planted above. Together, they create a ‘sunrise of hope’, 38 years after the tragic event.

Year: 2021 – 2023
Client: Private
Landscape Architect: Bureau Bas Smets
Photographs: Michiel De Cleene

The city centre of Charleroi was designed as a fortress in the 17^th century. The project transforms its open space into a welcoming interconnecting network of public plazas.

Year: 2015 – 2023
Client: City of Charleroi
Design Team: Bureau Bas Smets
In collaboration with: VK, MDW, Advisors
Photographs (1, 3, 6, 8): Michiel De Cleene
Photographs (10): Charleroi Bouwmeester

One hundred trees have been planted to commemorate the centenary of Victor Horta’s visionary project for the Brugmann Hospital. Ten species have been chosen for their resilience to changes in climate. They prepare the site for the next hundred years by growing into a network of fresh groves throughout the site for both patients and visitors.

Year: 2022-2023
Client: CHU Brugmann
Landscape Architect: Bureau Bas Smets
Photographs (1, 2, 3): Twice.art x CHU
Photographs (4, 5): Michiel De Cleene

Design of the film set of Philippe Parreno’s “Continuously Habitable Zones”. The film depicts the landscape of an imaginary dwarf planet lit by two suns. NASA research imagines the vegetation to turn black due to exposure to a wider range of frequencies. The different interventions are transformed into a continuous landscape in the film.

Year: 2011
Commissioned by: Daimler Art Collection & Fondation Beyeler
Director: Philippe Parreno
Landscape Architect: Bureau Bas Smets
Cinematography: Darius Khondji

The hanging gardens occupy the central courtyard of a boutique hotel in the centre of London. More than five hundred climbers grow in the channel beams of the suspended walkways. The plants bring a unique atmosphere to the courtyard while providing privacy towards the hotel rooms.

Year: 2014 – 2017
Client: Newman Assets
Architect: Manolo & White
Photographs: Adrien Fouéré, David Grandorge

The dike of the left bank of the Scheldt needs to be raised because of rising water levels. These infrastructural works become the opportunity to rethink the left bank as a linear park of more 7km. The park allocates more space to both nature and recreation, connected by continuous meandering pathways.

Year: 2021 – 2027
Client: City of Antwerp
Design Team: Bureau Bas Smets
In collaboration with: ARA, AGT, Plant&Houtgoed, Billie Bonkers, Vectris, Rebelgroup, Equator

Five continuous lines in blue stone reveal the beautifully curved façades of this plaza. The daily market and the outdoor terraces are organised in the resulting bands made with reused blue stone pavers from the former sidewalks. A collection of trees brings colour, shade and fragrance to the plaza. 

Year: 2013 – 2018
Client: Municipality of Saint-Gilles
Landscape Architect: Bureau Bas Smets
Photographs: Michiel De Cleene