Sphinxpark: temporary park in Maastricht

During a festive, sunny gathering with various activities on Saturday 26 May the Sphinxpark was opened by Maastricht Alderman for Culture Jacques Costongs. 

Hundreds of guests took part in the program: they enjoyed the picknick, visited the 'Proeftuin' and the 'Sky Hive', listened to the elegy and admired the places of memory.

See the photographs of the opening day on the right (photography by Moniek Wegdam).

On the site of the former ceramics factories of the Royal Sphinx, REcentre, platform for sustainable design in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion, NAiM/Bureau Europa and Marres Projects are developing the so-called Sphinxpark in collaboration with the Municipality of Maastricht, the Province of Limburg and Area Development Group Belvédère. Until July 1st, 2013, this fully enclosed and wild terrain in the heart of Maastricht will be transformed into a temporary park through various projects.

The Sphinxpark is a park where the future development of the city and the landscape is already taking shape. Examples are the need for urban agriculture, the effects of population decline and the debate surrounding the redevelopment of this specific area. The contributions of the inhabitants of Maastricht form an essential part of this public project. In this temporary park for Maastricht and the Euregion, the building blocks are developed that contribute to the park of the future.

Several projects are developed in collaboration with local and Euregional partners. Some of the projects have already been realized, others will become visible in the Sphinxpark over the course of the coming year.

In collaboration with the Landhuis in Maastricht, part of this area has been determined for the so-called ‘Proefpark’. In this ‘Proefpark’ a growing community of volunteers practice urban agriculture on a small scale. The various vegetable gardens are the basis of a small local food chain.

Recently, the ‘Sky Hive’ of Bee Collective has been placed in the park. This initiative of Studio Kernland, Meier+Moor, Robin van Hontem Productdesign and Werkmannen aspires to keep bees in the city. After all, bees are indispensable for our food production, and the bee population is in serious danger worldwide. A way of reinforcing the bee population is keeping bees in an urban environment, which presently offers more biodiversity than the countryside. The first prototype of the ‘Sky Hive’ has been placed in the Sphinxpark, allowing a group of starting regional beekeepers to keep bees.  .

Moreover, several interventions of the project ‘Places of Memory by Karin Peulen, researcher and artist, are presented in the Sphinxpark. In collaboration with other artists, archeologists, philosophers and arts students Peulen studies the question of landscape, heritage and remembrance, subjects that are naturally connected to this former industrial site with such a rich history. During the opening, among others an elegy will be performed and… the ruin of the secret love nest of Regout, the founder of the former Sphinx factory, and his good friend Willem I are on view. 

The various scenarios for the future of the park, developed by Studio Stad from Maastricht and the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, are also in development and the contours will be shown with scale models on the opening day.

Entrance

Through the Boschstraat 24 (next to Infocenter Belvédère), or through the Maagdendries, Maastricht.

Please note: The Sphinxpark has a diverse character and only a few paved paths. Appropriate shoes are recommended. The site has no facilities for the disabled yet.

The Sphinxpark is a project by REcentre, platform for sustainable design in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion, NAiM/Bureau Europa and Marres Projects, and is part of the project Landscape in Perspective. The Sphinxpark is realized thanks to the generous cooperation of the Municipality of Maastricht, the Province of Limburg and Area Development Group Belvédère.

Photography: Kim Bouvy

Downloads

• Sphinxpark (PDF, 6 MB)