Taktyk completes Wangari Muta Maathai Park in Lille

Construction of Wangari Muta Maathai Park, designed by the Brussels-based landscape architecture practice Taktyk, is entering its final phase. Winner of the competition launched by the City of Lille in 2020, the project will soon transform a 2.5-hectare former railway brownfield into a new urban park linking the Halle de Glisse, the Jardin des Plantes and the Lille-Sud district.

Making the ground itself a resource

Formerly used as a railway logistics depot for nearly fifty years, the site bore the traces of its industrial past. Rather than importing large quantities of topsoil, Taktyk developed a strategy based on the "memory of the soil."

The project builds on the identification of fertile soil horizons still buried beneath more recent fill, reorganising them to restore the site's ecological potential. This approach has shaped a broad landscaped plain that folds to accommodate stormwater, integrate play areas and create generous spaces for relaxation overlooking the surrounding railway landscape.

By prioritising the transformation of resources already present on site, the project also anticipates contemporary challenges linked to material scarcity. As the cost of topsoil has risen sharply since the competition was launched, this strategy has proved particularly forward-looking.

A new landscape for Lille-Sud

Conceived as a transitional space connecting several neighbourhoods and public facilities, Wangari Muta Maathai Park will soon provide a new place for gathering, recreation and biodiversity in the south of Lille.

The park is scheduled to open to the public during summer 2026.

Project team

Lead landscape architect: Taktyk
Soil strategy: Sol Paysage
Civil engineering: Mageo
Lighting design: 8.18
Client: City of Lille
Project lead: Thomas Monzani