Jesus, how hard is it to not cover something with concrete, damn!
If only there was a cheaper, more natural way to equip an open space with greenery and shade. Like a “canopy” or a roof made of leaves of some kind…
The article specifically says that there are tunnels and pipes below this roundabout so plating trees was not possible.
That makes sense for the trees. Still could’ve built a simpler structure with some plants that don’t have such deep roots.
That was the plan. From the article it looks like it failed because Belgium can’t elect a government and they were not able to fund this project properly. It’s a simple administrative failure in a country with way bigger issues than ugly roundabout.
Fucking pivot then. The fancy green roof wasn’t built, there are still many ways to add benches and, more importantly, soil, trees and bushes. Throw some water fountains while you’re at it. The alternative is a sad, inhospitable place.
Even the original vision was still a frying pan, only with a green egg.
Sounds like it’s time to drill a bunch of holes and plant a bunch of trees.
It was always going to be a complex project: majestic tall trees were out of the question as the square sits over an underground car tunnel, railway and metro station, and a maze of gas and water pipelines.
What about raised beds for trees?
That was the plan. Someone pasted a picture. You’re not going to get big trees by planting them in pots. If they can’t develop roots they simply will not grow very big.
I would have made a giant web of sunshades with the flags of all member nations. Then again, at the cost of some poles and large sunshades plus labor, what would we do with the other 12 million euros?
It is infinitely embarrassing that a simple roof as a shade is supposed to cost 13 million € or 5 million €.
Who is kidding themselves here.
Good on the Brussels local government for not allocating those funds.
It would not have been a simple roof, but yes, it should have been built.
Green spaces and places to relax socially are always a good thing.
I agree on the green and social places. The thing I don’t understand and where we disagree, is why everything always has to be such a dick measuring contest.
13 million Euros?! 13 MILLION Euros?
Not for a mansion, but for some… thing that’s supposed to nothing but block a little sun in the summer?!
It’s a lot of money for sure, but it doesn’t strike me as way off the mark given the size. As a fun exercise, check how much it costs to repave a street in your hometown and make sure you’re sitting down first.
The redevelopment plan for Schuman Square at the heart of the EU quarter in Brussels was very ambitious. From a traffic-clogged, nondescript roundabout, it would become “an urban agora”, a greener, calmer meeting place, nothing less, said a former head of the Brussels government, than “a symbol that beats as the heart … of the European project”.
It did not turn out that way. The result, say critics, is Europe’s largest frying pan, a concrete expanse with little greenery or shade. While the number of cars has reduced and the space is remodelled with smart grey paving, the centrepiece – a steel canopy with a green roof – was never built.
They don’t even have to plant trees, they can put grass on the ground and give space for vines. I heard khudzu grows like weed 😉
Taking up White House decor.
