The landscaped park

From the Alyscamps necropolis to the Parc des Ateliers

In the time of the Roman necropolis

From the late 1^st century BCE, the Alyscamps necropolis was established in Arles along the Via Aurelia.

Initially limited to cremation burials in its oldest section near the city walls, the necropolis gradually expanded over the following centuries toward the southeast, reaching the present-day site of the Church of Saint-Honorat. According to tradition, the Arlesian martyr Genesius was buried there in the 3^rd century. Numerous stone sarcophagi, ranging from simple to richly carved, bear witness to the long history of this pagan and later Christian cemetery, which remained in use until the 15^th century.

The construction of the Parc des Ateliers and its decline into an industrial brownfield

In the mid-19^th century, construction of the Parc des Ateliers began in Arles, led by the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée (PLM) railway company, on part of the site of the ancient Alyscamps necropolis.

Work began in 1844 with the leveling of the land using dynamite. Many stone sarcophagi were excavated, buried, or destroyed in the process. The entire site was then covered with a concrete slab to facilitate the construction of buildings and the movement of locomotives.

The company, Arles’ main employer until the 1930s, closed in 1984 following a decline driven by technological change. After a series of fires in 1985 and 1986, the site became an industrial brownfield.

A new horizon for the Parc des Ateliers

The launch of LUMA Arles and the creation of the landscaped park

In the fall of 2007, Maja Hoffmann announced an ambitious project to transform the Parc des Ateliers into a new kind of cultural campus. She selected architect Frank Gehry to design The Tower.

She entrusted the design and realization of a garden-park to a young Belgian landscape architect. Born in 1975, Bas Smets had just founded his practice in Brussels.

He first discovered Arles in 2009. Years of reflection and exchange followed, leading to the development of a project whose successive stages were shared with the people of Arles.

In 2017, the first trials began.

“The site is unique. We have no model to follow—we are always experimenting. That was Maja Hoffmann’s intention from the start: to create a microclimate and explore how plants, animals, and people can coexist. But also how different uses can come together: visiting exhibitions, taking a simple family walk, children playing, and more.”
Bas Smets (Arles Magazine #6, Winter 2022–2023)

A park inspired by the Camargue, the Crau, and the Alpilles

To design the LUMA Arles landscaped park, Bas Smets drew inspiration from the three distinctive landscapes surrounding the city: the Camargue delta, the Alpilles range, and the Crau steppe.

Each of these biotopes is reflected in the park’s geography, from its contours to the choice of plant species. More than five hundred trees have been planted, including stone pines, holm oaks, strawberry trees, maples, white poplars, willows, alders, and European nettle trees.

The subtle balance between hills and the pond was designed with all seasons in mind.

By bringing together the region’s three biotopes, the landscaped park has created, in accelerated form, a new hybrid and condensed landscape. A human-made environment shaped by and rooted in its surroundings, in keeping with the laws of nature.

The pond: a climate tool for the landscaped park

The growth of the park’s vegetation is made possible by a sustainable water circulation system that draws from the Canal de Craponne. Built in the 16th century to support agriculture, the canal connects the Durance and the Rhône and runs close to the Parc des Ateliers.

A Renaissance gentleman, Adam de Craponne (1526–1576) designed the canal that bears his name to irrigate the farmland of the Arles region with water from the Durance. Today, this system feeds both the vegetation of the LUMA Arles landscaped park and its pond.

Covering 2,500 square meters, the pond serves as an irrigation reservoir and as a form of natural cooling. Through evaporation, it lowers the surrounding air temperature. As breezes pass over the water, they are naturally cooled.

The microclimate created by the pond has quickly encouraged the return of wildlife to the park, from frogs and bees to migratory birds. Researchers from the Tour du Valat biological station are responsible for monitoring the site’s evolving biodiversity.

Awards and distinctions of the LUMA Arles landscaped park

In 2021, the landscaped park was nominated in the “Public and Landscape Spaces” category of the Équerre d’Argent, a major architecture award.

In 2024, the park received the Grand Jury Prize at the Victoires du Paysage, an event organized by Valhor, the French interprofessional organization for horticulture.

In 2025, the landscaped park gained European recognition in the field of landscape and urban greening by winning the Silver Medal at the Green Cities Europe Awards. Selected by an international jury of experts, the Parc des Ateliers was recognized for the quality of its landscape design, its environmental impact, and its contribution to more resilient, inclusive, and enjoyable urban spaces.

Bas Smets, born in 1975 in Belgium, is a landscape architect with a multidisciplinary background that has shaped his unique approach to creating innovative and sustainable urban spaces.

He founded his firm in 2007 in Brussels which has since built over 50 international projects, including the LUMA Parc des Ateliers in Arles, the Thurn & Taxis Park in Brussels, the Sunken Garden in London, and the Himara Waterfront in Albania. In 2022, Smets won the prestigious international competition to redesign the public space surrounding Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Smets' approach is characterized by his concept of"Augmented Landscapes," which utilizes natural processes to create new microclimates. He often collaborates with artists and scientists, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary innovation.

2023, Smets was appointed Professor in Practice at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University, where he continues to explore inventive ways to transform urban environments into ecological systems capable of mitigating climate change. His visionary approach to landscape architecture offers a promising path forward for making cities more resilient to the challenges of the climate crisis.