The Gedempte Zuiderdokken together formed an elongated square in the south of Antwerp, parallel to the Scheldt bank. It is a beautiful open space that was mainly used as a huge car park. That is useful, because parking spaces are needed in the city. But it is also a missed opportunity. That is why this area is being transformed into a park with 2 underground car parks: the Zuidpark.
At the end of the 19th century, three docks were dug on this site as an extension of the then port. But in the course of the 20th century, the port activities mainly moved to the north. In 1969, the Zuiderdokken were closed off and a square was created. There was space for sports and games at both ends, but most of the square was used as a car park.
While the South developed into a cultural, creative and leading district from the 1980s onwards, the Zuiderdokken remained an uninspiring, grey square. That is now changing. In September 2015, the decision was made that something new had to be done with the Gedempte Zuiderdokken and conditions were laid down. Parking remains important in this zone, so the parking spaces are moving underground. This frees up space above ground for a complete redevelopment. The city wanted to be ambitious with this and organised a design competition. The winning design is by the Belgian-Swiss team Tractebel, ADR Architects, Georges Descombes in collaboration with Les Eclairistes Associés & Erik De Waele.
The square will have two major functions: a park and 2 underground car parks.
The three former docks were in line with each other: from south to north the Kooldok, the Schippersdok and the Steendok. The underground car parks will be located exactly within the dock edges of the former Kooldok and Steendok.
The old docks have been demolished to one and a half metres below ground. The remains have been well preserved below that. These remains remain clearly visible from the car parks. The car parks each have four underground levels. There are bicycle parking facilities on level -1. The other levels are for passenger cars, with spaces for people with disabilities at each pedestrian exit. There are also charging stations for electric cars.
The Kooldok and Steendok car parks connect to the parking routes along the Leien and the Kaaien. The pedestrian exits are located outside the dock edge to keep the space around the park square as free as possible. For cyclists, there is a staircase with a bicycle gutter on both sides.
On 24 August 2018, the amended final design by Tractebel, ADR Architects, Georges Descombes, LEA and Erik De Waele was approved. In it, the team further elaborated their original design after an extensive consultation process.
On 1 March 2019, an environmental permit was granted for the first phase of the construction of Steendok. A number of objections were subsequently lodged. The city entered into a dialogue with those involved, which resulted in an amended environmental permit on June 27, 2019.