The Citadel Park is the largest municipal park in Ghent city centre.

The park is a green lung and fulfils an important recreational role at both the district and city level. Due to its great botanical and historic value – the park played an important role during the world exhibition in 1913 – it is a protected landscape.

At the same time, the park also forms an important cultural cluster in the city thanks to the presence of museums (Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art and Museum of Fine Arts), the International Convention Centre and the Kuipke (where the annual Six Days of Ghent is held – a cycling race with an international reputation).

Thanks to its unique location along the city's ring-road, on the route between Sint-Pieters Station and Ghent city centre and its central position amongst a number of important cultural and educational institutions, the park has a key role to play in the urban fabric.

However, the multiplicity of functions which are often difficult to bring together has meant that this vulnerable park environment has been under pressure for years. The park is therefore due for a thorough and urgent refurbishment.

In the transformation to a contemporary and functional city park, it is of crucial importance that we do not set to work in a noncommittal manner by carrying out a succession of separate, disconnected projects in the park and the surrounding area. There is first and foremost a need for a clear design strategy based upon an overall vision for the Citadel Park, whereby a balance is sought between the various functions. A well-considered design strategy must optimise the internal coherence of the park as well as its relationship with the surrounding area. The experience of the park must be strengthened for various users.

The city authorities have recently set out the markers of the direction they want to pursue for the park. They are opting for the extension of the present functions within an international cultural park, whereby the park function takes precedence. It is also clear that the Six Days of Ghent must continue to be held in the present Kuipke.

The park is currently highly fragmented due, amongst other things, to buildings and surfacing. The potential of the park must in the first place be put to use and made visible again. Through interventions which make the park more transparent and less restricted, the Citadel Park must once again become a 'garden for the local neighbourhood and a park for the city.' The park and the various buildings within it are an international-standard cultural and touristic advertisement for Ghent in an Arts Quarter which is to be further enhanced. The local park function must not be put under threat. The green elements, heritage, culture, sport and tourism go hand in hand in the park.

The task at hand is now to translate this into concrete projects situated in a clear and overarching overall vision for the park.
The brief therefore consists of two components:
1. the development of design guidelines for the Citadel Park
2. the translation of these guidelines into one or more concrete implementation projects (pilot projects).

There is initially a need for strong and subtle design guidelines. We are seeking a renowned multidisciplinary and integrated design team which is able to handle this complex urban-planning, landscaping and architectural assignment.

The design guidelines will provide the basis for the layout of the new Citadel Park and must make it possible to develop the park in a phased but nevertheless coherent manner. We do not expect a fixed overall plan but rather a strategy in the basis of which sub-projects can be tested.

Design choices must be made at various scale levels. Decisions must be made at the macro level (perception and spatial positioning within the urban fabric), the meso level (finishing the peripheral areas, preconditions for the buildings in the park, infrastructure and routing, concepts concerning plant/trees etc.) and the micro level (use of material and colour, visual elements, etc.). The various layers in the park (biotic, abiotic, cultural-historical and anthropogenic) must provide the necessary input.
The design guidelines developed must then be translated into concrete implementation projects in various phases. In the second part of this brief, the design team will choose one or more logical pilot projects in consultation with the client, which will then be developed and implemented. A pilot project must first of all demonstrate the strength and applicability of the design guidelines and may take various forms depending on the outcomes of the proposed design strategy. One may choose to construct one or more access zones, develop a lighting concept, create a main route through the park or tackle a strategic location (e.g. the Museumplein).

Sub-task 1: design guidelines: min. €100,000 and max. € 120,000 excluding VAT
Sub-task 2: according to KVIV norms, dependent upon brief and category
Sub-task 3: supervision: subject to negotiation