Esplanade of the European Parliament

The Esplanade of the European Parliament, or simply the mall, (French: L’esplanade du Parlement européen, or le mail) is a pedestrian mall in Brussels (Belgium), completed in 2002.

Position

The mall runs the central length of the Espace Léopold, the European Parliament buildings in Brussels and covers a once above ground railway station, the Brussels-Luxembourg Station. The paving over the top of the station allowed the construction of Parliament and created a direct link between Luxembourg Square to the west and Leopold Park to the east. The train station's old entrance, since converted into part of the Parliamentary complex, is replaced by a glass covered stairway rising out of the mall's southern portion.

It has been criticised for "leading nowhere" as, aside from the Parliament and railway station, the mall is devoid of life. Parliamentary authorities did not wish to share the site with private enterprise, and hence there are no shops or services along its entire length. [cite book|last= Demey |first= Thierry |others= S. Strange (trans.) |title= Brussels, capital of Europe |year= 2007 |publisher= Badeaux |location= Brussels |isbn= 2-9600414-2-9|page=p.381]

Design

The mall is largely light pink and white flagstone, with the southern segment broken by grassy areas running down its centre. It curves following the layout of the train station below and the Parliamentary buildings above built around the tracks. In the stone in the northern segment are engraved marble slabs in the ground commemorating the first meeting of the "World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty" on 17 October 1987 in Paris. They are written in four languages and contains a quote from Joseph Wresinski and a commemoration of the 29 May 2002 follow up meeting in Brussels.

In the re-planning of the European Quarter, the "public stature" of the mall is to be reinforced, along with the east-west connections. The northern end, which cuts off suddenly at Belliard Road, is to be improved, subject to an architecture competition. The southern segment will also be improved with better connections to residences, the park and the local museums. The government also seeks ideas on how to bring more life to the mall. [http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/cmsmedia/fr/sd_fr_vdef_pdf.pdf?uri=ff8081811982727701198459e828002f Schéma directeur du quartier européen] , Brussels-Capital Region]

Name

According to Brussels' government, the term "the mall", translated from the French "le mail", was given by the designers due to the origin of the word "mail". The etymology of mail refers to the game, mail (a form of croquet) which was played in 16th century France on a raised grassy valley adjoining the Tuileries Palace Gardens. The proximity of Léopold Park to the esplanade, which was originally to be higher, led the designers to apply the term.

References