Activation of industrial heritage buildings as a potential for urban developmentJasna Cizler

Significance of derelict idustrial places

Historical significanceTechnological significanceArchitectual significanceSocial sifgnificanceCultural significance

(Photo: Falser, 2001, http://whc.unesco.org/archive/ind-study01.pdf)

Industrial heritage sites on UNESCO’s list

Among 759 cultural heritage sites on UNESCO's World Heritage list, about 45

sites represent industrial heritage (around 6%), and this percent increases

Industrial heritage as a potential for changing the environmental image of industrial areas

- more than 50% of the world population and 70% of the European population lives in cities. Cities are the biggest consumers of recources and the greatest polluters - abandoned industrial areas – the problem, but also the potencial for sustainable use of land, that should be encouraged instead of greenfield development- land recycling enables preservation of the resources, energy and time spent on building

Emscher park in Ruhr area in Germany is an example of neutralising the negative perception of industrial areas and change of the image

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- at the begining of the 20th century, Ruhr area was one of the most important centers for the coil and steel production in Europe

- Ruhr area is today probably the largest industrial heritage region in the Europe - regeneration of the infrastructure, economy and nature

- focus was put on the industrial heritage, it's preservation and reuse of buildings

- connecting towns in the contitual park – Emscher – in which green areas intertwine with the industrial remainings

- contaminated areas are rented for the lower cost in order to attract investors

- the ecology is highlighted

Photos: www.landezine.com/, http://recyclark.tumblr.com/

Duisburg Nord landscape park

Sargfabrik in Vienna- former cofin factory- social experiment (subventions, afordable living...)- housing, children areas, restaurants, cafes, common yard and roof gardes

Photo :www.afg.hs-anhalt.de/architektur/projekte/ss-2010/exk-graz-ueber-wien/

- awards for its design and architecture (with the nearby Mis Sargfabrik building), popularity

- the ecological aspect of the project: energy saving, termal insolation, composting, solar heating, sistem of divided levels, gardens on the roof and in the yard

photo:http://vienez.wordpress.com/

The industrial heritage as a potential for turism development

- change of use into a musem is one of the most frequent options of activationOstrava, Czech Republic

Castlefield in Manchester

- this was one of the poorest areas in the Great Britain in 1950s

- today - The Musem of science and industry with one of the oldest railway stations

Photo: www.cabe.org.uk/

Photo: www.edsphotoblog.com/

Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/tjblackwell/

Eisenerz, Austria

- remainings of the mining industry are the part of the cultural indentity

- development of the turism infrastracture (museums, mines open for public, miner's houses, Days of the miners, Network of minning cities and regions, The Route of Iron – on the UNESCO's tentative list)

Erzbergbahn – opened in 1891 for transport of the iron – today is used for the transport of tourists • key question - will the industry of tourism bring benefits to the local community? (or is it rather elitist, designed for middle and upper class, and encouraging low-paid seasonal jobs)

Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erzbergbahn_Ramsubach-Viaduct.jpg

Photo :www.kleinezeitung.at/

Industrial heritage, creative sector and culture-led urban regeneration

• industrial heritage and culture as regeneration catalysts• culture as an economic asset / attraction of investments, residents and professionals to the area

Cultural center DOX, Prague

• the creative sector has a rich socio-cultural capital / recognizes the quality of space

• conversion of a forgotten monument into the visible one, promotion of heritage values

• industrial sites are suitable environment for alternative art and cultural activities

 Meet Factory, Prague - a former glass factory warehouse, founded by artists, owned by the city, rented under the symbolic price

• minimal intervention / authentic atmosphere

Photo :http://praguemonitor.com/

Saltaire, near Leeds

• Founded in the 19th century / construction of residential buildings and public institutions• under the protection of UNESCO

Photo: Bradford Libraries

Salts Mill was renovated in 1987, it houses shops, galleries, restaurants and other functions open to the public

• the significance of gradual redevelopment and hybrid forms of use (combination of production, renting for commercial use, cultural and artistic programs) as a financially viable solution

But: the use of culture in development policies is increasingly subject to criticism

• Identification of the specific features of the area, promoting them and increasing the economic value of the area in practice often lead to consumption and commercialisation

Commercial approach to the activation of industrial heritage

• heritage as a marketing tool in urban renewal, used to sell the space more successfully• development driven by dominantly commercial interests is a threat to public spaces and to the heritage

Holbeck, Leeds, UK Photo: www.weloveholbeck.com

Marshalls Mill, Leeds, UK

• lack of spaces which do not generate income – such as non-profit activities and public spaces • regeneration is often accompanied by gentrification - marginalization of former residents and the introduction of an elite lifestyle • Rhetoric vs. Reality

Photo: www.weloveholbeck.com

Marshalls Mill, Leeds - inaccessibility, dominance of the walls and parking facilities, used only by employees

This raises the question of the availability of heritage as a public good due to the fact that it is not available for use to all residents

Photo: www.victoriaquays.com

How to connect interests of different stakeholders in the management of industrial heritage?

Kladno, Czech Republic

Alternative and low-budget approaches to the reuse – artists and the local community as initiators and main actors in activation

Photo: EASA 2010

• the main contribution to the preservation of industrial heritage in Europe did not come from official institutions and the state, but from the initiative of volunteers and various stakeholders

• civil society and organized communities have social capital, knowledge about the neighborhood and a motivation

• the concept of the right to the city - the city as a social and creative product of all residents in which they actively participate

• related to DIY culture, small-scale production, community gardens, squatters' movement 

Kladno - The first alternative route of industrial tourism in the Czech Republic

Temple Works, Leeds

• highest level of protection

• since 2009 used by a non-profit group

• buy nothing policy, used furniture, volunteers, artists • private property – it is significant to support owners who provide facilities for non-profit activities or let them under lower prices, through mechanisms such as lower taxes

Photo: in Broadhead, I., Leeds

Tabakfabrik, a former tobacco factory in Linz, Austria

• 1935, Peter Behrens • the largest and most modern tobacco factory in CE • protected monument of culture• owned by the city• a group of architects, urban planners, artists and social

scientists is involved in the transformation process • financial support of local, regional and federal government and private entities • several categories of rents for letting the space

• Berens sought an open, large and easily adaptable spaces • Today - commitment to the principles of participation and openness, creativity, social responsibility • Courtyard is transformed into a public space, plans to transform space in front of the building into a garden

Photo: www.tabakfabrik-linz.at 

• The City invests, but there is agreement to experiment - there is no plan or decision about the final usecareful design, flexibility

 • official policy often does not recognize and does not support this concept, and often through a process of urban renewal contributes to gentrification• traditional planning and protection instruments are often helpless in dealing with the new challenges of heritage preservation and reuse of abandoned buildings• financial resources often lack

Recommendations

• support processes in which actors have the capital (social, cultural) to start activation, support the temporary reuse• flexible system of planning and heritage protection, strategic, long-term thinking, which allows unexpected changes and greater involvement of non-institutional and non-investor stakeholders • an active dialogue with the local population, transparency and participation • trying to reconcile the interests of different stakeholders - conflicts are inevitable, but all parties involved can have the benefits from the activation of the industrial heritage - there is a common interest among stakeholders that should be found 

Karlin Studios, Prague

Thank you! Mulțumesc!

Poles of Cultures – Urban Regeneration of cultural and industrial heritageJuly 1st 2014, Pancevo, Serbia

Jasna Cizler

M.Arch, Urban Regeneration specialist, PhD candidate at Department for Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade

cizlerj@gmail.com