Turning a parking lot into a public park, restoring space for both nature and people: this is the achievement of Zuidpark of Antwerp in Belgium, honored with the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2026. The project, designed by Tractebel, atelier adr, and Georges Descombes, was proclaimed the winner on the 15th of October at CCCB, the Centre of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona, triumphing over a jury chaired by architect Eva Prats.
The prize, established in 2000, celebrates interventions capable of rethinking public spaces and improving the quality of urban life. The 2026 edition set a record for participation, with 381 entries, underscoring how central urban regeneration is to the future of European cities.
Zuidpark: the parking lot that becomes a park
The story of Zuidpark begins in the Nineteenth century, when in the Gedempte Zuiderdokken area three basins were created for commercial activities. In the 1960s, after the port facilities were decommissioned, the basins were filled in and the surface was transformed into a vast asphalted area used as a parking lot.
Over time, the neighborhood continued to evolve, with the opening of cafés, museums and new services. The large piazzale remained an impermeable surface capable of accumulating heat, becoming an environmental and urban problem.
The project by Tractebel, atelier adr and Georges Descombes returned the area to the community through a decementing intervention. The geometry of the old basins became the organizing principle of the new park, inaugurated in 2024 and progressively turning into a reference point for urban life.
Today Zuidpark unfolds around a large central meadow, a linear water garden and several areas dedicated to resting, sport and urban agriculture. Three new squares, moreover, connect the park to the surrounding streets.
Alongside the removal of the asphalt, a system for collecting, filtering and reusing rainwater was introduced, while the introduction of vegetation helps make the area more livable.
European Prize for Urban Public Space 2026
What convinced the jury was not only the physical transformation of Antwerp’s Zuidpark, but above all the ability to combine environmental sustainability with the quality of public space. The project demonstrates how returning space to citizens can require radical choices and a willingness to move beyond established urban models.
Georges Descombes highlighted the importance of taking risks in design, explaining that a good project must push beyond what is already known.
A special mention was awarded to Round About Baths, a temporary installation conceived by architect Leopold Banchini in Logroño, Spain, in 2025, as part of the Concéntrico festival. For six days, a fountain in a roundabout was transformed into a public bath with changing rooms, steam spaces and cold-water pools.
Among the finalists were also the transformation of Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes in Barcelona, where a roadside ramp gives way to a plaza-park, and the Park of Peace in Vicenza. The latter reclaims the site of the former airport, spanning 65 hectares, with the aim of managing waters, fostering biodiversity and creating new meeting places.
These projects share a common vision: future cities do not necessarily have to grow outward, but can improve by reclaiming existing spaces. In a context shaped by climate change and the need to rethink mobility, public space becomes a fundamental resource for building more sustainable and livable communities.
