LOLA

For ‘Water forum Luxembourg’, our LUGA 2025 contribution, LOLA teamed up with 2001 and 51N4E. LUGA is a national exhibition of urban gardens, landscaping, agricultural installations and living spaces, organized from May to October 2025 in Luxembourg. The exhibition features lands­cape creations, artistic interventions, ephemeral constructions and innovative agricultural techniques spread across the country. 

Our LUGA garden, follows the theme ‘Making the invisible visible’ by focusing on the Alzette River as the main green structure of Luxembourg’s green belt. The site near Casemates du Bock reveals a landscape seemingly unchanged since the 19th century – except for the river itself, which has been canalized and lost its natural dynamics.

Once a place for washing clothes outside the city walls, the Alzette is now facing serious ecological challenges. As Luxembourg’s main urban water system, its fragile ecosystem suffers from decreasing water quality due to industrial, agricultural and urban use. At times, nearly all water in the river comes from depollution stati­ons, highlighting the urgency of the situation.

Our project addresses this by creating a water beam that takes water from the Alzette, cleans it to safe standards, and displays it in a mirror pond. This installation serves as both a practical demonstration and a gathering space to contemplate the river’s condition.

We aim to radically change how people view the water system and kickstart a reconnection between Luxembourg’s inhabitants and their river. By making visible both the fragility of the ecosystem and potential solutions, we hope to revive the cultural heritage and activities like swimming that the river could support with improved water quality.

Read more about LUGA 2025 here.