Sheep pasture instead of cornfield
An attractive natural space is to enhance the gravel extraction area and agricultural land on the outskirts of Basel. The IBA Basel awarded the idea of a “Parc des Carrières” on the border between France and Switzerland as a model project. The implementation of the first stage is planned for 2020.
Between Basel and Allschwil, Hégenheim and St. Louis lies an undeveloped area surrounded by industry, commerce, housing estates and allotments. The majority of the 300-hectare area is used for agriculture. KIBAG also quarries gravel here: conveyor belts and material depots can be seen from afar. This is not yet the most attractive place for an extended lunch break or a Sunday stroll with the family. But that is set to change in the next few years. The IBA project “Parc des Carrières” is being built in the core zone of the landscape on the border between Switzerland and France.
Gravel will continue to be extracted from the site in open-cast mining (carrière = pit) until 2040. As soon as the excavators move on, KIBAG will fill the pits with clean excavated soil. The plan is to use the material and model the surface of the land in such a way that a landscape rich in experiences and species can be created. The core zone of the area – around eleven hectares – will be transformed into a local recreation area in three stages. The population of the region will benefit from the transformation of this area: as a leisure and meeting place, but also as an attractive setting for new residential areas in the surrounding area. Where yield-oriented agriculture dominates today, two new ecological corridors, the Basel corridor and the Allschwil corridor, are being created in the south.
The city of St. Louis has already realized the third corridor, Bourgfelden, to the north. There will be near-natural fringes along the new paths. The corridors are part of a networking strategy from the Petite Camargue Alsacienne nature reserve via the Lertzbach stream and the gravel pit area to the natural inventory areas in the surrounding area. The planting concept is based on site-specific and species-rich flora and fauna. Flower meadows are planned for around two thirds of the core zone, extensively managed and grazed by sheep. Dry and wet sites complement the park area.
You can read the full article in G+L 01/2020 on IBA Basel 2020, which you can purchase here.