Page 154 - Beyond Decommissioning

6
Experience and lessons learned

The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new
ways of thinking about them.
Sir William Bragg (1862–1942)

Some common reuses for industrial sites are outlined below and case histories
described. However, the number of implemented redevelopments is much higher:
for example, Waymarking (n.d.) presents 186 cases (including some highlighted in
this book) with summaries of site histories, redevelopment processes, and achieved
reuses. Several dozens of other cases are discussed in IAEA (2011).
Many industrial heritage sites are reused for museums and creative industries
(e.g., artist studios). The esthetics of industrial places is often compatible with arts
and the building fabric is often preserved with the patina accumulated by time.
Multi-residential reuse of industrial sites can cause more radical impacts than other
uses. For example, large spaces are carved up into smaller units and new services, such
as plumbing or air conditioning, can be installed. Heritage buildings are often adapted
as high-end residential developments, which may result in building fabric being
painted over, or hidden behind new walls (note these interventions could be regarded
as inimical to historic preservation). However, a changing sentiment means that the
industrial esthetics and patina of building fabric are now growingly recognized. Her-
itage qualities tend currently to be appreciated as desirable components and are suc-
cessfully marketed. Residential reuse can also generate good financial returns. In
some cases, residential reuse of industrial buildings has resulted in the regeneration
of those areas, and has significantly increased property prices.
Recreation can offer options for the reuse of sites in a manner accessible to broad
segments of the community. Recreational uses may also be the solution for heritage
sites that are hard to reuse otherwise. For example, many decommissioned railways
are being reused as trails for cycling, walking, and other recreational activities
(Section 6.7.5). Recreational reuses can also allow to maintain sites in the state of
“ruins,” that is, some recreational reuses do not require fully operational buildings;

Fig. 6.1 Claude Lorrain—The Painter as Draftsman, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Beyond Decommissioning. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102790-5.00006-3
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.