Culture-led Regeneration of Industrial Heritage Sites in Modern Cities

Abstract

The basic conceptual characteristics of ‘regeneration’ are defined in this article, which demonstrates that the declaration of the authors of the project for the regeneration of industrial heritage sites can lead to the use of various methods and techniques, as well as to different results. Clarifying the question of what the meaning of the term culture-led regeneration in different countries is and analyzing specific projects with a culture-led concept, authors show the interdependence of the interpretation of culture and the scope of actions for updating the historical and architectural industrial heritage. It is defined that the term culture-led regeneration arises in specific sociocultural and theoretical circumstances of the rapid degradation of industrial heritage at the time of transition of the world’s economies to other forms and structures. It marks a paradigm shift in the attitude of specialists towards industrial heritage. From conservation and museification in increasingly alienating industrial zones, they move on to the actualization of industrial architecture objects by strengthening their ties with all urban processes, primarily sociocultural ones. The most prominent role in such an activity is played by institutional or non-institutional understanding of culture by the authors of the project, experts, administrations, and the community. To clarify the dependence of the culture interpretation and the goals of the regeneration projects, an analysis was made of the culture-led aspects of the rehabilitation of the industrial area of Emscher Park (Germany), the creation of an industrial park on the site of the former industrial zone in Bolzano, the decision to turn the post office building in Buenos Aires into a classical music center. The experience of these projects can be taken into account by the initiators of similar projects in Russia.