City park van Hasselt Roosendaal
Inner-city parking lot redesigned as climate-adaptive biodiverse urban garden
Van Hasselt's Urban Garden transforms an inner-city parking lot into a climate-adaptive, biodiverse urban garden in Roosendaal, Netherlands. Designed with the municipality, the park collects over 1,000m3 of rainwater in a central wadi, reduces urban heat island effect, and provides habitats for birds, bats, insects, and amphibians. The project won the Lighthouse Award for water-resistant urban design and placed second in the Dutch round of Green Cities Europe 2022. It is a working demonstration of nature-inclusive design at city-center scale.
The Problem
Roosendaal's city center lacked green space and faced increasing flood risk from impermeable urban surfaces. An inner-city parking lot sat underused in a historically significant location. The municipality needed a solution that addressed water retention, urban heat, biodiversity loss, and social cohesion simultaneously, not as separate projects. Climate change projections made the case urgent: without intervention, the area's water management burden would increase and the surrounding neighborhoods would remain without accessible green space.Process
Central wadi as organizing principle
The design centers on a wadi connected to surrounding rooftops, collecting runoff and storing over 1,000m3 of rainwater. After heavy rain, the garden becomes a temporary reservoir, reducing flood burden on the wider city while creating a changed and distinctive visitor experience.Biodiversity-first planting strategy
No lights were integrated into the park, preserving darkness for nocturnal wildlife. The planting palette combines edible species with habitats for birds, bats, insects, and amphibians, aligned with the municipality's broader Roosendaal Future Proof program.Social infrastructure as landscape element
Small amphitheaters, seating areas, and open paths were designed to invite outdoor classes, performances, and informal gathering, making the space function as civic infrastructure as well as ecology.Outcomes
- Rainwater storage
- 1,000m3
- Capacity in the central wadi
- Lighthouse Award
- 2022
- For water-resistant built environment
- Green Cities Europe
- 2nd place
- Dutch round, 2022
Gallery
