Nostalgia for the industrial spirit of cities. Renovation of plants and factories

One of the markers of the city's well-being is the continuous functioning and interaction of all its areas. Industrial zones make up a significant part of the city territory, so their condition affects the health of the metropolis.

У #25 issues of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA Tatyana Franchuk talked about transformation of an industrial complex into a cultural quarter of the city of Porto in Portugal. In Portuguese, there is a wonderful, hard-to-translate word, saudade, which describes the feeling of "the presence of absence", nostalgia or longing for places, things, people that were in our lives, or perhaps never even existed.

In the book "Making saudade", the anthropologist Joao Leal nostalgically describes the "lost splendor" of Portuguese cultural life, and the cultural scientist Jack Draper in his works refers to the director Umberto Mauro, who associates the term with a description of migration from the countryside to the city.

Nostalgia for the industrial spirit of cities arises in the process of urbanization, when abandoned plants and factories, which once played an important role in the life cycle of the metropolis, become unnecessary. Having found themselves as dead parts of the urban fabric in the middle of lively areas, they are adjacent to new residential or public areas and pose a danger to the latter, turning into a kind of magnet for destruction and dirt. By stopping the "epidemic" through renovation, we eliminate the problem and solve many other problems along the way. What exactly - let's try to figure it out.

 

The ambitions of big cities are the need for new housing

According to UN forecasts, by 2050 the number of the planet's population will grow to 9,7 billion people. The need for new housing forces modern cities to rapidly develop wide and upward, eating up more and more territory every year. The search for new land creates the problem of high-rise buildings that grow chaotically and distort the silhouette of cities. Using the resource of existing architecture is a good alternative to new buildings.

Most often, industrial buildings in the city were not built as point objects, but as whole complexes and districts, which is a treat for investors: for a relatively low land price, they can get large areas for the prospect of sale or lease. The potential of such territories makes it possible to create not just individual residential buildings, but multifunctional complexes where people can comfortably live, work, rest, and study.

Such ecosystems are relevant today for megacities, where it is important to save time spent on moving from home to office, from office to gym, from gym to supermarket, etc. In world practice, there are many examples of transformation of industrial buildings into housing.

Using the resource of existing architecture is a good alternative to new buildings

In the previous issue, we mentioned the renovation of the Fenix ​​I warehouse building located on the waterfront in Rotterdam. Once this object was a large trade and transport hub, and already in 2020 it was recognized as the best residential building in the Netherlands. Begun in 1995, the renovation of The Gasometers gas tanks in Vienna (Austria) turned the industrial complex into an autonomous "city within a city" with 800 apartments (for approximately 1600 people) and 70 student rooms.

The Hudson Yards multifunctional complex project in New York literally grew over an operating railway. The development of this area continues with the placement of offices, apartments, restaurants, a hotel and a school. By 2030, 10 people will live in another former industrial district, Les Groues, which is currently being renovated in Paris, and the same number of jobs will be created there. By this time, local offices and small businesses will occupy an area of ​​230 square meters. m.

 

New cultural centers are city magnets

One of the most common areas of revitalization of industrial complexes is the creation of cultural clusters on their territory: museums, libraries, exhibition centers, galleries, concert halls. The former Philips power plant in Eindhoven (Netherlands) was transformed by the young architect Janne van Berlo into an innovative creative hub Innovation Powerhouse.

In Berlin (Germany), the old Hamburger Bahnhof train station is now home to the Museum für Gegenwart. In Johannesburg (South Africa), a project was developed to transform a granary complex into the Thabo Mbeki Cultural Center. Here, on the territory of eight cylindrical tanks, a research center, a library, and exhibition halls will be arranged.

Such cultural clusters are powerful magnets in the public life of the city. As a rule, industrial zones are moved outside the historical center, and by attracting a new flow of people there, architects, urban planners and developers partially solve the problem of pendulum migration and urban congestion.

In addition, the opportunity for city dwellers to spend their leisure time here extends the nightlife of remote areas, making their location safer compared to the deserted past. Cultural centers and creative hubs attract lovers of exquisite and original art, they are not attracted here by expensive glamorous decorations, but by subtle decadent style.

One of the vivid examples is a complex of buildings in the center of the Alcantara district (Lisbon, Portugal), which was built in the XNUMXth century. to accommodate a weaving factory. A strong industrial spirit and creativity are felt in it even today. Only in the XNUMXst century. the "spinning" red thread here is the idea not of factory production, but of creating an alternative bohemian environment.

The modern LX Factory is 23 square meters. m, occupied by souvenir shops, coffee shops, restaurant terraces, studios and galleries of artists. And while 300 km from here in the former industrial district of the city of Porto, people dance in the most fashionable clubs to techno and house, here at night it is pleasant to listen to live music over a glass of thick fruity port, choose an art object from the counter of some local eccentric, or better yet - a can of sardines in a colorful packaging, and just take a walk on the territory of a kind of experimental factory, and then carry with you a faint saudade in your heart.

Attracting a new flow of people outside the historical center solves the issue of pendulum migration

The former Casaramona weaving factory in Barcelona, ​​built at the beginning of the 3th century, can be considered the European sister of this manufactory. a Catalan modernist architect. Today, this object is a large cultural center Caixa Forum, which offers XNUMX thousand square meters. m of exhibition space.

 

The scale of the territory — saving resources for construction

During the design of industrial architecture, the requirements that ensure the long-term operation of objects are taken into account. The strength characteristics of the load-bearing structures of historical industrial buildings many times exceed the similar indicators of modern buildings of the same typology. Engineering communications of industrial facilities are designed for huge volumes of water and electricity consumption.

This potential gives an advantage to the use of old industrial complexes compared to new construction. The area of ​​the internal premises of such objects is usually enough to accommodate all the necessary new functions, and the adjacent territory — for the organization of public spaces, squares, and organized parking.

The rehabilitated weaving manufactory in the Polish city of Lodz is a post-industrial Manufaktura space. At the end of the XNUMXth century this complex contained a weaving mill, a spinning mill, a bleaching mill, a dyeing mill, a finishing mill, a machine repair and construction department, a locksmith shop, a steam locomotive depot, a gas plant, a foundry, a fire station, warehouses, a railway branch, a manufacturer's palace, and residential buildings for workers.

After four years of restoration, the huge complex turned into a shopping and entertainment center with museums, restaurants, a bowling alley, a climbing wall, a hotel, and even the residence itself — a museum of the Poznański family: they once owned the factory. As a result of the successful renovation, about 3000 jobs were created here, 300 retail stores, 62 catering enterprises were opened.

 

Integration of abandoned sites into city life: infrastructure restoration

Renovation of cut-off areas of the city, which are often former industrial zones, is accompanied by the creation or reconstruction of the transport system. As a result of the successful practice of such transformations, the city receives not only a renewed district, but also the development of transport infrastructure. Citizens have new railways, stations, routes.

The historic area of ​​London Docklands (Great Britain), where piers and wharves were located, ships were serviced and cargoes were processed, developed in isolation throughout its life. Its isolation, the lack of transport connections later provoked even greater isolation - the inhabitants of the docks declared independence and blocked the existing roads. Gradually, the district fell into disrepair and became crime-prone.

The first stage of the redevelopment of the district was the restoration of the transport infrastructure. Doklands has been successfully integrated into the overall fabric by creating new public transport routes. For the operation of the new metro line, the fabric of the old railway, located on the old brick viaduct, was used. A new tunnel built as part of the revitalization process now connects the area to the city's main highways.

 

Ecology and creation of new recreational areas

Non-functioning factories are ecologically dangerous. Renovation of industrial facilities eliminates the problem of destruction and pollution of the environment. During the redevelopment of these territories, great attention is paid to new technologies aimed at saving natural resources. In addition, a large part of the area is given over to recreational areas, public parks, and landscaping.

About 200 trees were planted and 130 hectares of open spaces were created in the redevelopment project program of the abandoned Doklands area in London.

The renovation project of the Hudson Yards complex in New York (USA), the implementation of which is still ongoing, provides for the organization of a recreation area with an area of ​​about 6 hectares.

The territory of the Manufaktura complex in Poland includes space for various outdoor festivals and concerts. Its square with fountains is a wonderful recreation area.

German Hamburg was built on the banks of the Elbe before the 50s. could boast of a large industrial port with an area of ​​155 hectares. But with the transition of maritime trade to container ships, it became unnecessary. The idea arose to breathe new life into the abandoned HafenCity harbor. Thanks to the private architectural bureau KCAP Architects & Planners, which won the competition and invested about 1 billion euros in the construction, the dead area turned into a multifunctional complex, where the night life of the city shines through the windows of its residential buildings, shop windows, stained glass windows of restaurants and is reflected in blurred bright colors on the water splash.

In addition to the aforementioned variety of leisure activities, new parks, squares and pedestrian zones with a total area of ​​28 hectares have been created on the territory of HafenCity. This large-scale reconstruction is still ongoing. The developers predict that by 2025 there will be 6 apartments, about 13 people will live here and 45 jobs will be created.

 

Economic profit. New jobs and investment attraction

One of the important areas of revitalization of industrial complexes is the creation of business centers on their territory. If the state creates favorable economic conditions for investors, then the redevelopment of industrial areas attracts an even greater flow of capital investments. Citizens get new jobs, investors get a decent income, the city gets economic growth, tourists get attractive architecture of office complexes.

In the program of the previously mentioned redevelopment project of the abandoned Doklands district in London, the government provided favorable tax conditions for investors, which contributed to large capital investments for the development of the future mixed-use complex: public investment of about 1,8 billion British pounds attracted 6,5 billion pounds of private funds.

At the time of completion of this project, more than 24 housing units and 2,3 million square meters were built in the district. m of commercial space. In addition, 13 schools, 16 colleges, 5 medical centers and other public institutions were created. The population here increased from 40 to 85 thousand people, and the number of jobs increased from 27 to 90 thousand.

One of the important areas of revitalization of industrial complexes is the creation of business centers

The harbor in Dusseldorf (Germany) functioned as a customs house until the 70s, then the port was turned into a boat station, and already in 2000, the area turned into an innovative office space. Most of it is occupied by radio and telecommunications buildings, hence the new name - "Media Harbor" (MedienHafen). In addition to offices, hotels and restaurants are located here.

The architectural appearance of the embankment is incredibly diverse. You get the feeling that you are entering the kingdom of crooked mirrors, where each building twists or twists, hangs over the water or bounces on its legs, inflates, reflects the surrounding space like a mirror and distorts the face of every tourist who looks into its soul, inspired to take a selfie .

After the renovation, residential buildings, boutiques, art galleries, concert halls and offices were located on the territory of DUMBO 

Until the 70s, industrial cargo was transported in the harbor of Düsseldorf, on another continent, in the American Brooklyn, soap was brewed and paper was produced, and the entire coastal area was occupied by warehouses. But in 1974, private developer David Valentas, owner of the Two Trees company, bought 13 buildings and renovated the DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) industrial district.

The total investment in the project amounted to 200 million dollars. Residential buildings, boutiques, art galleries, concert halls and offices are located on the territory of 13 hectares. The rent of the latter was made twice lower than in Manhattan, so by 2017, about 25% of the companies of the technology industry of New York were concentrated here: 500 firms were located here, and 10 thousand people got jobs. Now, when the lights are lit in restaurants and hotels in Germany's Mediahaven, the windows of art galleries, shops and business centers are lit up in DUMBO.

 

Nostalgia for the industrial spirit of Ukrainian cities

If in European cities, industrial areas make up approximately 3–4% of the entire city area, then in Ukraine, industrial areas of the city occupy about 10%. This is a significant part of the land that needs rehabilitation. The wave of revival of industrial zones covered Ukrainian cities with a short time gap. "Mystetskyi Arsenal" opened in Kyiv, "Art Platform 11" in Poltava, "Promprylad" in Ivano-Frankivsk, Fest Republic in Lviv, "Mechanika" art factory in Kharkiv, and many others.

The production sector of Kyiv is formed by about 10 enterprises located in 20 industrial districts

The production sector of Kyiv consists of about 10 enterprises located in 20 industrial districts. Many of them have lost their function. Abandoned industrial districts fall out of the life of the metropolis like a burned-out pixel. Their redevelopment makes it possible to integrate dead areas into the general fabric of the city fabric, to once again make industrial zones part of a living, functioning organism.

 

Rehabilitated factories are a territory for a new format of recreation

If the attraction of the 20th century were shopping and entertainment centers, then in the XNUMXst century creative hubs are becoming more relevant, which make it possible to combine recreation with an educational and cultural function. Today, every second XNUMX-year-old person is a startup. And it becomes more interesting for young people not to have fun, but to engage in their own development and development of their business. Previously, we have already considered examples of successful renovations of factories with their transformation into cultural centers in global practice. What about us?

Continuing the topic of weaving factories, given at the beginning of the material, it is difficult not to mention the capital art factory "Platforma", known today to any resident of Kyiv. The warm atmosphere of comfort and celebration, created by garlands that shine in the evenings, mobile street furniture, a large selection of cocktails and dishes, attracts modern residents of the "concrete jungle". Previously, street food festivals, "City Picnic", "Courage Bazaar", "White Nights", Tattoo Fest were held here.

Events are currently being held with the support of the AkT cultural space. At first, the industrial complex functioned as a silk factory. Built in 1947, it was used for fabric production, but fell into disrepair in the 90s and stood empty until 2014. Currently, its 120 sq. m. m are ideal for holding large-scale parties, concerts, fire shows and other activities of the day and night life of the city.

Attraction of the XNUMXth century. — shopping and entertainment centers, and XXI creative hubs

The "resuscitators" of the former Kharkiv locomotive factory at the end of the XNUMXth century had a similar goal, on the ruins of which they created a creative space. "Another land", or "Mechanika" art factory, has now become a favorite meeting place for sculptors and musicians, designers and directors, photographers and athletes. Thanks to young initiatives, this creative hub regularly organizes events for the creation of new interesting ideas.

 

Aesthetics of lofts. The interior is half decided

Working in the process of renovation with the space of a post-industrial building, architects have nothing to worry about the stylistic design of the interiors, because the loft is an aesthetic that has almost become a classic. If we are talking, for example, about the adaptation of palace or castle complexes, then there is a risk of destroying valuable historical interiors and important architectural elements, and industrial zones are a very democratic space in this sense.

The interiors of the palace complexes are set to a certain formality, and in the former plants and factories, a person of any income level and age - both a student and a businessman - feels more free and psychologically comfortable. These qualities of democracy and flexibility often attract developers. One example is Fabrica.space in Kharkiv.

 

In 1933, a building was built in Kharkiv near the Lopan embankment, which served as a factory for sorting and storing grain crops until the 60s. Like most industrial facilities in the post-Soviet space, it was in stagnation in the 90s.

In 2015, Fabrica.space opens here. The team of the IT company, which was looking for a space for a new office, showed interest in the abandoned object. During the repair process, all engineering communications were completely replaced, and everything that had historical value was preserved as much as possible. Native parquet and interesting artifacts found in piles of garbage — paintings, documents, labels for naming grain varieties, furniture — became the highlight of the interior.

Now it is one of the most favorite places of Kharkiv residents. Here you can have a snack at the bar, listen to live music, and work in a co-working space. Festivals, concerts, film screenings have become an integral part of the life of this cultural cluster. Now these are not empty dead premises, but a "hub of attraction of minds, a workshop of ideas and quality recreation", as the developers themselves called it.

 

Factories and factories as historical value

Sometimes former industrial buildings are interesting from the point of view of cultural heritage. In this case, the renovation of industrial objects, in addition to the tasks already mentioned above, carries an additional mission — to preserve the architectural monument, to record the historical appearance of the city, the spirit of the era.

The Jam Factory art center will unite various creative areas: music, cinema, visual arts

A unique object in Lviv, an architectural monument, built at the end of the XNUMXth and the beginning of the XNUMXth centuries. in the neo-Gothic style, first a factory for the production of alcoholic beverages, then for the production of jam, could become the prototype of "Paradise Pickles" for the Indian writer Arundhati Roy, but the inhabitants of the city call it more prosaically - "jam factory".

The name was established and took root also thanks to the artists who used the premises in 2009-2010. In 2015, the Austrian historian and philanthropist Harald Binder bought the factory buildings. A year later, the Austrian company Stephen Ringler started its reconstruction project. Here will be the Jam Factory art center, which combines various creative directions: music, cinema, visual arts. We will tell you more about this project in one of the following volumes. For now, let's talk about some useful aspects of renovation of industrial buildings.

 

Former industrial zones are new sites for community creation

The initiators of Ukrainian redevelopment emphasize that today our state needs to create large-scale projects that will make it recognizable, and it needs products that the whole world would use, such as Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, CouchSurfing and the like. One of the reasons for the lack of such is that the urban environment lacks interactive, platforms where people could productively communicate, exchange experience, generate new ideas for the production of new products and services. In other words, there is a need to form a community united by one goal and common interests.

 

Since 2015, in Lviv, in the Pidzamche industrial district, on the street Re-Zavod works at Zavodskyi, 31. And now, it seems, in contrast to harmful industrial production, the new "residents" of the plant are ideologically united by the idea of ​​a healthy lifestyle, healthy food, eco-design and care for the environment.

The Zelenew workshop makes various things from recycled plastic, the architecture and construction company "1.618" embodies ideas about environmental friendliness and rational use of resources in its design, the bakery "SamSmak" bakes whole grain bread and confectionery without harmful ingredients and softeners, the author of the Warm Ink Design clothing brand uses natural fabrics.

The current Ukrainian project LEM Station in Lviv, the opening of which is planned from 2021 to 2022, is also aimed at creating a certain community.

The name of the new "station" at the intersection of St. Sakharova and st. Vitovskyi, as you can easily guess, in honor of the Lviv-born science fiction writer, futurist Stanislav Lem. The attempt of the fiction writer to record and reflect in literature the sketches of his native city and look into its future is very consistent with the key task of the LEM Station site, because this project should preserve the historical industrial spirit of the place and offer a new format of a creative platform that allows changing the future today.

This place is not simple, but with history, with its own special energy, because the first power station in the city was built here, and the first tram was launched from here. Today, one can only meet his phantoms, who appear at the Solaris station in Stanislav Lem's novel of the same name, and feel nostalgia: as the Portuguese would say, saudade.

Investors propose the concept of a creative industry hub. Creativity in their understanding is the ability to bring goods and services to life with the help of creativity. People will come here for ideas, to share experiences, to work together.

The attempt of the science fiction writer Stanislav Lem to look into the future is consistent with the key concept of the LEM Station project

Mykhailo Lemak, CEO of the LEM Station project, shared future plans for the revitalization of the complex: "The project involves the reconstruction and adaptation of existing buildings: hangars built in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries, the buildings of the first electric and compressor stations (the latter was planned to be used for underground trams and so and not put into operation), the former polyclinic (a co-working space is planned here) and a preventive clinic (premises for the future children's center). In addition, the creative center will contain new public recreational spaces: Lem square and the square.

A multi-purpose site with four main functional areas will be created on the territory of the abandoned depot. The first is working. Today, a person is increasingly not tied to a single workplace. She is mobile, travels with a laptop in her hands, so the demand for co-working spaces is high. The second zone, communicative, is open to residents and guests of the city. In Lviv, unfortunately, there is a small selection of locations for evening leisure.

Wanting to correct the situation, the initiators of the project are planning new event formats here: comedy stand-ups, variety shows, TED Talks, festivals, presentations, concerts. The event area is for speakers and all kinds of lectures. The representative zone is for exhibitions and creative workshops, where you can physically create prototypes, models for work, and test samples of created products.

The transformation of the old tram depot into an innovative creative center will form a new intersection point for entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and other representatives of creative industries. Once this place changed the urban environment, and now a new history of Lviv begins from this complex. It is symbolic that in the past electricity was produced here, and now energy is being accumulated for new interesting large-scale projects.

Former industrial buildings are interesting from the point of view of cultural heritage

The heyday of industrialization with its reinforced concrete, trams and power stations, machine tools and production workshops left us with many objects of industrial architecture. As a result of stagnation, the latter found themselves outside the boundaries of city life. But the potential of using these territories for new functions is so great today that with the right integrated approach and interaction of architects, urban planners, developers, city authorities and public initiatives, completely new vectors of urban development in the field of construction, ecology, economy, education, culture may appear , tourism, innovative technologies.