Reloading 21st century cities with cultural energy: The transformation of gas factories into cultural hotspots in Amsterdam and Athens

Dora Chatzi Rodopoulou

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractScientific

Abstract

Historic industries form a heritage group that has only been established in the collective memory recently. Albeit the group’s growing momentum and the relatively recent attempts to exploit brownfield land; a vast historic industrial stock still remains underused in the heart of European cities; like a series of scars on the urban tissue. The exponential developments affecting our cities in the last decades; no longer tolerate the existence of such scars; posing urgent dilemmas to decision makers.
The aim of this paper is to reveal the inspiring potential of reused industrial heritage to reload the character of European cities with new cultural energy. The subject will be examined through the critical analysis of two parallel cases of transformed gasworks: the Westergafabriek in Amsterdam and Technopolis - Gazi in Athens. The selected cases are deemed comparable bearing several similarities in terms of their historic use; development and redevelopment circle as well as their central location in a European capital. After their transformation; realized in the turn of the 21st century; both cases serve today as cultural hotspots. They have reestablished their role as an ‘energy’ supplier of the city while catalyzing spatial and conceptual urban metamorphosis for a large audience.
The material presented in this paper is part of the ongoing PhD research; conducted by the author; titled: “Control Shift. European Industrial Heritage reuse in review”. In order to capture the complexities of the issue under investigation; a mixed methodology is employed involving literature review; qualitative and field research.
From the analysis of the two cases in Amsterdam and Athens; selected from a wider framework of twenty cases Europe-wide; useful lessons can be drawn for urban planning; built heritage management and city branding; providing guidance and informing future relevant practice. The role of industrial heritage reuse is highlighted as a crucial factor in developing strategies for the revitalization of historic cities in the 21st century.
Original languageEnglish
Pages501-501
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Event3rd International Conference on Changing Cities: Spatial, Design, Landscape and Socio-economic Dimensions - Syros, Syros, Greece
Duration: 26 Jun 201730 Jun 2017

Conference

Conference3rd International Conference on Changing Cities
Country/TerritoryGreece
CitySyros
Period26/06/1730/06/17

Keywords

  • urban metabolism indicator
  • urban metabolism set
  • Urban sustainability

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reloading 21st century cities with cultural energy: The transformation of gas factories into cultural hotspots in Amsterdam and Athens'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this