1. IntroductIon

In dedication to my better half, Joey.

Also to my thesis tutor, Mr. David.

Contents

1. IntroductIon

Introduction to Adaptive Reuse and Why the Sites

2. In-ApproprIAte-Ion

How the Sites were Reused before the Interventions

3. ups-And-downs

The Initiation of the Interventions

4. MAsterplAns

The Detailed Schemes as a Whole

5. reuse And developMents

The Individual Interventions

6. conclusIon

A Review back on the Approaches

7. AppendIx

8. BIBlIogrAphy & references 1-4

5-14

15-28

29-36

37-52

53-58

59-66

67-74

1 Intoduction

redressing the grievances

The general media wax lyrical about success story of NDSM and King’s Cross, neglecting the ‘dark’ transition time of the sites before transformation. How were buildings used, or reused in this period then?

Fig. 1 & 2: Duisburg Park & Zolle Zolverein in Germany. The appreciation of decay itself of leftover industrial structures becomes a form of AR.

The urban regeneration of postindustrial cities has been based on the protection of buildings since the wake of conservation movement. Adaptive reuse (AR) plays an important role as a strategy to utilise these structures. The unification of different elements through AR is employed successfully in Germany, epitomised by Duisburg North Landscape Park (Fig.1), a preserved industrial-site as park in the Ruhr just before the turn of this century, and Zeche Zollverein (Fig.2), a coal-mining industrial site being converted into an industrial heritage site due to high perceived cultural value. Either site acquires one unified purpose by being a group host, with the contribution of each ancillary buildings: the former as a park and the latter as a cultural heritage site.

Group hosts are differentiated by whether these buildings are elements that comprise part of one single complex or individual elements in an overall urban environment; and as a single complex, the aim will most often be the preservation of a historic event, community or moment in time1 .

Instead of focusing on isolated sites and group hosts, the pressing need for cities to regenerate postindustrial sites of disparate buildings is targeted for this study. Given the power of urban growth forces the network society beyond the scope of architecture and urban planning, any urbanistic intervention - if it is to be an intelligent and bespoke response that is also progressive - needs to be based on a precise analysis of what is going on in terms of geo-political and social transformations, and why2 .

The models of urban regeneration through adaptive reuse in Europe is chosen and compared to carry out empirical study. Thus, two sites chosen as the ultimate case studies of AR as the core strategy are: Netherlandsche Dok En Scheepsbouw (NDSM) of Amsterdam in Netherlands, and Kings Cross Central (KX) in London. NDSM was a thriving shipbuilding company at the northern bank of River IJ, while King’s Cross was an industrial goods depot.

These two European sites are at variance with each other in terms of context, approach, finance, beneficiaries and building purpose. The comparison between the two would express the multifaceted nature of AR to pose the question:

Through the critical analysis of the two case studies, this paper aims to evaluate the issues of AR and examine both models from the scale of macro to micro. The first section introduces the transition period after the initial purpose of the site has vanished, and seeks to scrutinise the purpose of the buildings and validate the occurrence of AR in the period. The second section describes the origination and the evolution of the AR in the regeneration schemes. The third section delineates the context and the conditions surrounding the AR sites. The fourth section details the pertinent buildings that are reused from each site and compares them to one another while the last chapter summarises and interprets the analysis as they attempt to answer the primary question.

“How does the best practice of Adaptive Reuse prevail in the urban regeneration of post-industrial sites in contemporary cities?”

1 Wong, L., Adaptive Reuse: Extending the Lives of Buildings, Basel, Birkhauser, 2017, p.119

2 Bullivan, L., Masterplanning Futures, Abingdon, Routledge, 2012, p.1

1 In-Appropriate -ion

redressing the grievances

The general media wax lyrical about success story of NDSM and King’s Cross, neglecting the ‘dark’ transition time of the sites before transformation. How were buildings used, or reused in this period then? Fig. 3: NDSM in 1962 before its fall as a ship-building & repairing facility

Fig. 4: KX Central Aerial View 1995 showing its use as goods depot hub (Regeneration Area drawn in red)