Recycling industrial architecture into the city fabric : the "Progetto-Bicocca" Pirelli International Competition, Milan, Italy (original) (raw)

Urban and Suburban Small-Scale Industrial Reuse. Strategies, Methodologies and Tools for Urban Regeneration in Small-Medium Towns

2014

The aim of this paper is the investigation and analysis of the emerging phenomenon of the micro industrial reuse that is affecting the contemporary European city with unknown and different features from those of the major productive sectors known. The issues related to this phenomenon are attributable to the popular opinion that micro industrial reuse can be managed locally and autonomously in the absence of an overview. However, a critical investigation of urban regeneration can develop a method of study based primarily on the development of these emerging phenomena, later on the recognition of the distinctive characteristics of this new urban condition and finally on the identification of operating ways that can be generalized in similar contexts. Essential is to verify the possibility of increase the level of habitability of this spaces and of the respective contexts to stopping the continuous waste of soil and improving the quality of life. So, the interventions of regeneration of urban areas must create relationships with its immediate surroundings, it can create hybridization functional between productive, collective and residential activities and between public and private activities. The physical setting of the research was an area included in the basin of the Po valley: an area along the Via Emilia, where small and medium industrial units have concentrated in the last decades. This area still shows problems of industrial reorganization, rendered more complex by the widespread crisis prevailing in traditional activities. In this context, a number of projects concerning rail and/or road accessibility were being carried out, arising much debate as to whether or not they will prove useful for the future transport network of the whole basin. In this broader context, our research has focused on in-depth analysis of a possible case study, represented by the city of Fidenza. The strategy adopted by the project moves by some general considerations, that see the urban plan of Fidenza fragmented into anonymous accidental conurbations, moving gradually away from the city center to the countryside. This anomaly, which is common in many centers for small and medium, in Fidenza is particularly emblematic near the entrances of the city on the Via Emilia. Then, is an urgent need to rethink, in this urban fabric, the role of the Via Emilia, which has historically helped to create direct relationships along the course, between town and country and between urban facts within the city itself, which are still dismissed. To exemplify our approach to the theme of the proposed project, it is necessary to look at the analysis of some projects. These projects have developed in different ways the issues proposed by the place, chosen as project area. These issues can be summarized as follows: proposals for the organization in the area facing the Fidenza Railway Station; proposals for the organization in the bounded area of the former Jesuit Convent in Fidenza. The innovative aspect of the project lies in posing the problem of urban regeneration at the micro-scale, looking at the potential role of small industrial units, which have closed down in small/medium towns. In the current situation a priority vision is mandatory. Sustainability, so often set as a priority by international research institutions, requires not only a generalized approach; rather does it require specific solutions, to be found considering the distinguishing features, and resources, of each single context. Our aim is to focus examples on how to reuse, modify, or replace (partially or entirely) existing small industrial units and activities. To do this, we shall experiment with new spatial arrangements and building types, while asking contribution from other disciplines to rediscover and revive the identity of townscapes under study.

Recovering Industrial Heritage in the Small Towns. The Disused Gioppo Textile Factories in Montebelluna (Italy)

International Conferences on Science and Technology Engineering Sciences and Technology - ICONST EST, 2022

One of the most important issues in current urban regeneration policies is the recovering and transformation of the industrial heritage in small Italian towns. The city of Montebelluna in the province of Treviso, especially the hamlet named Biadene-Pederiva, is still today a significant example of the numerous disused industrial areas, which the local administration is planning to convert into new functions. The aim of this research is to investigate new design strategies for the urban regeneration of these areas, through the protection of their morphological, historical and social values from contemporary changing city. The method of "design as research" adopted here includes the tools of urban and morphological analysis and the use of contemporary architecture expressive resources; it leads to rethinking the relationship between memory conservation and the representation of new social and manufacturing needs through an innovative and sustainable way. Moreover, some typical principles of sustainable architecture are applied in the design process, such as the reuse and recovery of existing areas and building materials, energy efficiency, the use of low environmental impact materials, and local identity preservation. The research was carried out as part of an agreement between the municipality of Montebelluna and the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering of the University of Padua; the results are a series of innovative urban and architectural transformation projects, capable of turning abandoned areas into something new. The case study presented here is the "Filatura Gioppo" textile factory, a typical industrial building from the 1930s, made of reinforced concrete and brick structure, including its own hydroelectric power plant for energy production and brick structure, including its own hydroelectric power plant for energy production. The proposal of transformation promotes the local tradition through the opening of a textile manufacturing museum, as well as tourist information centre, providing visitors with information on the area’s attractions; other possibilities of functional conversion for commercial purposes were also explored, or for new educational activities aimed to preserve and revive traditional arts and crafts practices. In conclusion, this design and research experience confirms that the recovering of industrial heritage, provided that it is carried out following an approach open to the contemporary interpretation of the morphological features of the area, can give new vitality as well as a new identity to small urban towns.

ADAPTIVE REUSE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF ABANDONED INDUSTRIAL AREAS: EXAMPLE OF ZURICH-WEST

5th International Conference on New Trends in Architecture and Interior Design, 2019

In some scenarios, with the changing needs of the city, industrial areas can remain idle. These industrial areas can be intertwined with the urban areas, which are actively used by the citizens as a result of the expansion of the city. Therefore, the industrial zones in the idle state are re-functionalized and become a new urban focus for the citizens. In this study; Zurich-West in the Industrial Quarter of Zurich, Switzerland, has been reviewed. IM Viadukt, Freitag Tower and Frau Gerolds Garden venues, which have major impacts on the transformation of the region, have been examined in detail in terms of their relations with the city, the design approach, space organization, and the use of materials. A field study was conducted in the Zurich-West area. As a result of the study, data on design and the designer's intervention limit and holistic design approach have been obtained in order to maintain regional identity and to ensure sustainability.

Recycling Space. Reframing Urban Derelict Sites and Properties. Exploring Space Theories from Henri Lefebvre to Urban Catalyst.

Using a cultural studies approach, this dissertation aims to explore in which way humans have been dealing with delivered space in western Europe since the Industrial Revolution, how despite a growing need for space there are high urban vacancy rates and especially, it focuses on how we can generate a renewed view on vacant sites and properties. In order to investigate this research question properly, this thesis is divided into two main parts: the first part aims to present a theoretical framework, while the second part is more practically oriented. Part one deals with the way in which humans have been shaping space by interaction with their surroundings. It starts by exploring Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the social production of space, which will be linked with Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulations. Along the way, Michel Foucault’s view on space as a political power construction will be picked up as well, which will eventually be embraced by Edward Soja’s solution-oriented Thirdspace theory. Soja gradually moves from an impression of space that he shares with Lefebvre and Foucault towards presenting a strategy for urban innovation. The second part of this dissertation then elaborates on the durable possibilities of recycling space as opposed to the short-term efficiency of demolishing and recreating new space. It presents three different ways in which vacancy is being dealt with today, which are 1. top-down by policy makers and city planners, 2. bottom-up by creative spatial entrepreneurs and 3. a combination in which these two dimensions co-operate. It then highlights the power of temporary use as a catalyst for sustainable urban development and innovation: temporary uses can contribute to a more dynamic use of urban space by slowing down (de)construction rates and increasing the optimum efficient use of delivered space. Finally, the obtained theoretical framework and practical insights will come together in a final section in which the possibilities for creating a sustainable future for the city are explored. In order to better adapt urban spaces to future economic shifts, three dimensions need to be taken into account: 1. demolition rates need to be restricted to the level of absolute necessity only, 2. delivered spaces need more recycling through temporary use as well as long-term reuse and 3. if new structures need to be created, they can be designed to be more adaptable towards future functionalities.

REVIVAL OF ABANDONED INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS VIA ADAPTIVE REUSE Date: 29 th April, 2022 CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTABILITY COMPLETION OF RESEARCH WORK

2022

This is my final dissertation on the subject of the Revival of Abandoned Industrial Buildings via Adaptive Reuse. This dissertation discusses the ongoing abandonment of large industrial buildings and how to repurpose them in an environmentally and socially beneficial manner. The Aim : Strategic use of site-sensitive design for Industrial structures can contribute to physical life improvements, impact social behavior and contribute to lifestyle enhancements within the community. The Hypothesis : Adaptive Reuse has a spirit of Sustainability, Conservation and Minimal Transformation, making it best fit for the future low availability of resources in the future. The conclusion of this dissertation states various guidelines we can follow for an Adaptive reuse project.

Rebuilding an urban empty space. The area where the Eretenio Theatre once stood near the River Retrone in Vicenza, Italy

Proceedings of the Conference CPUD '18 / III. INTERNATIONAL CITY PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN CONFERENCE, Istanbul, 2018

Vicenza is an ancient city located in the Veneto region, not far from Venice, in the northeast corner of Italy. This work specifically refers to the area of the Eretenio theatre on the bank of the River Retrone. The theatre was bombed and destroyed in 1944. Intimately part of the historic center of Vicenza, this abandoned area gradually lost its functional and social identity. The idea of rebuilding that degraded place has long been the object of discussion on the part of local authorities. The Eretenio theatre area is one of the subjects recently investigated by our students at the 'Architectural and Urban Composition 2' course taught on the master's degree in Architectural Engineering at the University of Padua. Students were required to present project hypotheses to reconfigure the lost unity of this symbolic part of the city. The history is considered an indispensable tool to know the deep reasons of the urban structure, which can be used to control the change of functional systems (political, social and economic). The Eretenio theatre area was proposed to our students as an opportunity to suggest new ways to manage the passage from past to future in the shadow of Andrea Palladio's architecture. Introductıon The following pages consider a case study themed on the reconstruction of the historic Italian city centre missing buildings due to acts of war and other traumatic events. Indeed, the empty space resulting from the demolition of a building is a deep wound in the historic urban fabric, a fabric composed of relationships that bring the public space to life. Transformations oriented in different directions can be made to this alteration but in the past Italy has often suffered reconstructions completely incompatible with the merits of the valuable historic and artistic context. In the specific case explained below, in the past, it has been rejected the idea to propose a new building where before the Second World War a monumental building stood. The missing volume has left an interruption in the urban fabric but this tear can be mended. This should be in a similar way when the remedy is being attempted in a historic city in contrast to the incoherent dissonant buildings hurriedly built in the period of economic growth that marked the 1950s and 1960s. Furthermore, the trend in urban redevelopment particularly in Italy has been towards studying and documenting the urban context in which the transformative reconstruction will take place. This trend considers investigation of the urban facts and their interpretation in the context to be a real and true first phase in the planning project.

Urban theory guidelines for handling industrial heritage.

With this research project I want to investigate how urban design theories can be applied to the subject of reconverting industrial heritage. Jean-François Lyotard tells us we should use the history of a place as a source of ideas and discussions for its future. How do we make this true for Brussels Canal zone? How do we treat buildings or urban tissues that were once of great importance to the city? Do we need to preserve the industrial nature of the Canal zone or are there other, more important characteristics in play? The architect no longer builds for ‘the’ human being but for a human being in a certain time, space and context. What is this context for the Canal zone? I answer these questions by accurately extracting the elements of importance out of some important postmodern design theories and applying these elements to the subject of industrial heritage.

UNLOVED INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE AS A MOTOR FOR URBAN REGENERATION

aicomos.com

While moving towards a sustainable society, conservation and reuse of valuable industrial heritage is becoming more and more important from a social, cultural and historical point of view. The reinforced concrete industrial buildings that were built in the early 20th century, ...

Renewal Strategies for the Environmental Conversion of Crafts Districts in Italy

Procedia Engineering, 2011

Different approaches can be experimented to enhance the urban and environmental quality of manufacturing areas. In recent years, in Italy, some local governments produced guidelines and research projects to explore the possibility of recovering suburban industrial sites in which a clear lack of quality design produced identity loss and a general decay. Planning and design criteria concerning these areas deal with diverse issues: urban morphology, energy-saving supply, waste management, sewage and water treatment, insertion of new services and qualified public areas. All these criteria face fundamental items but are difficult to be managed at the same time within a single project because of the high cost of such a multi-purpose urban policy, especially when applied to small-budget areas such as small industrial ones. Recent experiences made in some urban areas of the Emilia-Romagna region are trying to operate so as to enhance the design and the environmental quality of small and medium size crafts areas, acting mostly on open space rehabilitation and management. This should prelude, according to these regional urban policies, to a wider strategy of deeper renewal, referred to a complete range of instruments in ecologic redesign. Such perspectives are at the moment suffering the shortage of economic public and private resources and this fact caused the arrest of any publicprivate-partnership project, premise of any further urban renewal enterprises.

Incremental Reutilization Abandoned Industrial Buildings

2012

The aim of this paper is to explain the importance of re‐using valuable, un‐used buildings like outdated factories and revitalizing them by bringing them to the 21st century while at the same time, keeping a piece of their memory and their important contribution through their course of "life". The new users of the transformed building or site as well as the wider public will not only see the romantic and nostalgic side of a revitalized industrial building, but also its functional and financial contribution in the modern way of life where through sustainability of re‐use and respecting something old and neglected, can be brought back to life for something new and exciting. This paper will explore the proposal of incremental transformation of abandoned industrial buildings attempting to activate and reintegrate these structures in the socioeconomic system according to the emerging needs of the industry. The aim of this paper is to promote the significance of a smooth transit...