Page 163 - Beyond Decommissioning

144 Beyond Decommissioning

Phase I of the Opera Center in the old gas-purifying house was completed in
November 1985, and houses the 450-seat Imperial Oil Opera Theatre and facilities
for rehearsal, coaching, workshops, and receptions. Phase II, the old woolen mill,
was renovated as the administrative offices, box office, wig and make-up department,
music library, archives, props workshop and costume workshop and opened in
December 1987.
The building south of the lane that now houses CanStage’s Berkeley Street Theatre
Complex was a gas-pumping station. This heritage building was converted into a cen-
ter for contemporary theatre in 1971 (Lost Rivers, n.d.).

6.1.9 Sesto San Giovanni, Italy
Sesto San Giovanni is part of Greater Milan Area, Italy. Since the 1950s, this territory
had been characterized by major steel mills and chemical plants. The availability of
raw materials, land and road and rail communications favored its industrialization.
Located in Sesto was the steel plant of Falck, one of Italy’s leading industrial com-
panies, with a peak 1.25 million t of steel a year. Also located in Sesto were the plants
of Breda, dealing in engine manufacturing, the Marelli Group which made magnetos
and electronic equipment for the automotive industry and Ercole Marelli, a manufac-
turer of large power-generating motors. During the 1970s, these areas had record
employment levels. Later on, due to a shrinking world market and harsh competition,
Europe’s steelmaking industry including Sesto San Giovanni sank into a lasting crisis
reaching a peak in the early 1990s. In January 1996, Falck closed the last steel factory
in the area, making 1700 workers redundant.
The city suffered problems associated with abandoned land areas and obsolescence
of its buildings. There was a general lack of amenities and modern services. And on
top of all that, Sesto San Giovanni had to deal with the industrial, disused and polluted
land lying in its middle.
The Falck Company, in cooperation with the Municipality of Sesto San Giovanni
and the Province of Milan, saw to converting the crisis into an opportunity. Within the
frame of a strategic land management plan, a joint action was launched, centered on a
major project for sustainable development. An agency was established—the Agency
for the Promotion and Sustainable Development of the North Milan Metropolitan
Area or ASNM to take action on the challenges posed by industrial crisis. ASNM
had a proactive approach, turning a defensive climate in the face of crisis into one
of opportunity for the regeneration of the local economy. Actually, the Sesto San
Giovanni brownfield site had great potential for renewed community life. The rede-
velopment project has a clear layout predominantly based on green areas, together
with the existing industrial buildings bound for reuse.
Milanosesto is the largest redevelopment project in Italy. Situated in Sesto San
Giovanni in the ex-Falck industrial area, just a few km from Milan’s downtown,
2
the scope of this project has over 1 million m of new and renovated spaces, and
2
700,000 m of green spaces.
Architect Renzo Piano’s design has two types of residential buildings—
skyscrapers with up to 30 floors, and low-rises up to 11 floors—that will provide