00127

Rising from Ruins: Postindustrial Sites Between Abandonment and Engagement

Joern W. Langhorst
Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University
Abstract
The analysis of four case studies supports the hypothesis that the extremely divergent attitudes to and
interests in postindustrial sites, as well as the complexity and contestation of the sites, necessitate
design solutions that take into account their history, both in its physical remnants and in its sociocultural and economic contexts. It is suggested that brownfields in particular offer the opportunity to
develop design solutions that allow for inclusive multiplicity and pluralism, as in a kind of synthetic
overview that enables differences to play themselves out (Corner 2000:2). The understanding of
the temporal and dynamic character of any landscape and design solution, as well as a design process
that facilitates a fair representation of the existing attitudes towards and expectations of the site, is
paramount for success. Brownfields and other postindustrial sites seem particularly suited to create
public open space that allows for a variety of uses and activities, and could potentially support the
understanding of landscape not just as a product, but as an agency for ecological, cultural and social
change.

Keywords: Postindustrial sites; brownfield reclamation; participation; responsive design

1. Introduction
The reclamation of derelict or disused landscapes, specifically ones that have been shaped by
a very distinct use over time, both physically and culturally, poses a set of particular
challenges and questions. Contemporary approaches to abandoned and derelict sites are
mostly driven by the idea of reclaiming space for a variety of uses. From the reuse of an
industrial area to a conversion into housing or a park, there are a vast number of projects that
cover a considerable range. A series of projects under the umbrella of the International
Building Exhibition (IBA) Emscherpark, 1989-1999, in Germany presents the widest variety
of approaches and goals to date.
Among the different types of derelict sites, locations of former industrial production
frequently pose the biggest challenges; while focusing on the momentous environmental
problems (eg soil contamination) the social aspect is oftentimes secondary or neglected. The
decline of industrial production and successive process of abandonment frequently destroyed
the social and economic fabric of whole communities. Remaining industrial structures on
site were perceived as both symbols of a better past and a reminder of an uncertain future.
Not surprisingly, attempts at adaptive reuse met uncritical optimism as well as skepticism and
rejection.
This paper analyzes four cases that represent different approaches to engage the public and
community in the revitalization of derelict postindustrial and landfill sites, focusing on sites
that incorporate a significant amount of public open space:
Gas Works Park, Seattle, USA (Richard Haag, 1971)
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Duisburg, Germany (Peter Latz + Partner, 1985-current)
Byxbee Park, Palo Alto, USA (George Hargreaves & Assoc, Peter Richards, Michael
Oppenheimer, 1991)

Candlestick Point Park, San Francisco, USA (George Hargreaves & Assoc, Mack
Architects, Douglas Hollis, 1989/90)

The sites were visited by the author multiple times between 1986 and 2003. The conclusions
put forward here are funded in field observations, and conversations with site users on those
occasions.
It is the assumption that these sites, because of their high degree of complexity and
contestation, are particularly suited to test and develop different theoretical and practical
approaches to the redesign of public or mixed-use open space that could be prototypical for
other renewal and revitalization projects.
The analysis is based on an understanding of open space and landscape as both a complex
construct and process that includes naturalistic and phenomenological experience, and
diverse and often competing forces, such as social constituencies and interests, political
desires, ecological processes, program demands etc, allowing for the interpretation of
landscape not only as a product of cultural activity, but explicitly as an agent of social,
cultural, ecological and technological change (eg Corner 2000).
The goal is to assess the relationship between different theoretical and ideological bases, the
design and implementation processes and the resulting designs, thus developing a critical
understanding of the appropriateness and success of those bases. In several cases the model
character of the particular approaches to the individual site was stressed, assuming similar
approaches to be applied to urban renewal and other projects (in particular, Gas Works Park,
Seattle, Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord).
Based on literature reviews, interviews and observations on recurring site visits, the
following criteria are employed:
1. Investigating patterns of open space uses and taking a selective look at the different user
groups; how are their particular needs and requirements met through the design and to
what extent is the claim of offering a variety of opportunities for different uses/users met?
2. To what extent are the chosen examples successful in combining ecological and other
improvements with favorable social change? Do they succeed in not only offering
inclusive open-space experience but also become a destination beyond the context of the
neighboring communities?
3. How and to what extent is landscape understood as a dynamic and open-ended system, or
as a finalized product of a process of transformation limited in time and space, and how
does that affect users and uses?
4. What are the underlying values, notions and ideologies of reclamation and
transformation and how are they manifested?
2. Open Space Use
All four sites provide a variety of spaces that are accessible to different degrees. None of the
sites is universally accessible throughout. Both former landfills, Byxbee Park and
Candlestick Point Park, are accessed by a circular, paved path that allows for views into the
site (reminiscent in both layout and function of Lancelot Capability Browns idea of the
drive) and of the adjacent landscape. Byxbee Park allows for universal access to most of its
points of interest (the path along the ridgeline had a deteriorating gravel surface, which at the
last visit (2002), was in the process of being restored). However, to actually experience some
of the environmentally responsive designs other than visually and from a distance usually

involves abandoning the path. This is encouraged, but only possible for the able-bodied
visitors. This applies even more to Candlestick Point Park, which has a significant
unmaintained portion1. Some of the installations are only reached by making ones way
through thickets of pioneer vegetation. Though clearly not accessible for everybody, it
enhances the sense of mystery and discovery, and maintains some of the intrigue of actually
trespassing.
Both Gas Works Park and Landschaftspark Duisburg-North are accessed by a network of
paths. Gas Works Parks paved path allows for universal access to almost all of the
important elements. The remaining industrial structures and buildings are fenced off, and
function more like follies. The vegetation of Gas Works Park mainly consists of lawn.
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord has a complex network of official and spontaneous paths
with different surfaces. Most of the main elements are universally accessible. Large parts of
the park, shaped by different successional stages of spontaneous vegetation, are only
experienced by following small cow paths, enhancing the sense of mystery and discovery.
The majority of the remaining industrial structures are accessible for the able-bodied (most
involve ladders, staircases etc). Others are very creatively used for particular activities, such
as scuba-diving (old gasometer), or rock-climbing (former ore bunkers).

Photo 1. Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, former Thyssen blast furnace, May 1995. Planted and
spontaneous vegetation interacts with the industrial structures and provides a highly diverse
experience (J. Langhorst)

Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord provides clearly the most diverse experience and activities
for a variety of different users, while Byxbee Park, Gas Works Park and Candlestick Point
Park seem to be designed largely around a visual experience.
1

According to Mary Margaret Jones, Principal with Hargreaves Assoc. (Nov 8th, 2001) the park was
never inaugurated by the City of San Francisco and hence has not been maintained.

3. Social and Ecological Change

Gas Works Park, Byxbee Park and Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord have all received a high
level of publicity and the surrounding controversy, largely due to their obvious break with the
more traditional practice of recultivation, has induced a significant interest outside of the
surrounding communities. Their iconic character, though largely appealing to members of
professions of architecture, landscape architecture, industrial archaeology and planning, has
produced enough coverage, even in mainstream media, to support a constant influx of
visitors. All four cases fall short of providing a really successful ecological remediation2.
The contribution to favorable social change is only evident in case of Landschaftspark
Duisburg-Nord, where the initial resistance of the former workers living in the workers
housing right next to the park was overcome, with many of the former workers now
participating in more or less formal ways in the park, eg through guiding tours. For others,
the park has become a daily destination. The park design and the incremental
implementation, with a high degree of participation, succeeded in changing the largely
negative attitude into a positive and avoided reducing it to a romanticized version of
industrial ruins.
4. Landscape as Open-ended System
The designers in all four cases claimed an understanding of landscape as a continuous
process as a conceptual basis for their design and attempted to reveal landscape change.
Hargreaves Associates two landfill projects incorporate environmental art installations that
are supposed to reveal the effects of wind and water, and do that rather successfully. In the
case of Byxbee Park, a field of telephone poles is supposed to indicate changes underground
and in the landfill by sagging or tilting.

Photo 2. Pole Field, Byxbee Park, June 2002 (J. Langhorst)

The vegetation development in Candlestick Point Park, and even more so, in Duisburg-Nord,
is an explicit part of the design concept. Peter Latzs design concept is developed around the
idea of landscape and site change over time, and skillfully combines areas of free succession
2

A large area in Duisburg-Nord, a heavily contaminated site of a former coking plant, is simply left
untreated as of January 2004. Gas Works Park was partially closed by the EPA until 2003 to address
issues of surface soil contamination.

and change with human control and maintenance, often layering one over the other. In a
sense, Duisburg-Nord can both be read as a condensed palimpsest, representative of historic
and possible landscapes in Germanys industrial north, and as an open-air laboratory for
human-nature interactions and interrelations and their results.
Candlestick Point Park seems to focus on more immediate changes induced primarily by
wind patterns. It remains unclear whether its vegetation dynamics are part of the concept, as
the author suspects, or just due to a lack of maintenance. Gas Works Park has a more static
appearance change is treated as a historic phenomenon, expressed in the juxtaposition of
the strange and sublime industrial ruins and the green park lawn.
5. Underlying Values and Ideologies
Any analysis of the values and ideologies underlying a design is necessarily a difficult and
often speculative endeavor that needs to take into account possible individual interests and
biases of its protagonists. Secondary sources can, as the designs and their conceptual bases
and rationales, only be interpreted against their contemporary cultural, social and economic
setting. In this particular case, there is also a relation: Hargreaves and Latz both quoted Gas
Works Park as a precedent and the high level of publicity of each of the projects (maybe with
the exception of Candlestick Point Park) suggests each designer had a more than superficial
knowledge of the projects.
All of the projects incorporate the idea of recycling and re-use, of using materials already
on-site or recycled from the near vicinity (used telephone poles and chevrons made of precast concrete traffic barriers in Byxbee Park). This may be both a pragmatic, cost-driven
decision, but also suggests a larger context of understanding the design as a recycling or
re-use of landscape itself. The changes implemented on all sites then literally and
metaphorically allow for the pre-existing landscape to be used and experienced in new ways,
without fundamentally altering it. Its history still remains visible and is, at least in parts,
deliberately revealed and sometimes interpreted. There is no attempt to gloss over the
unpleasantries of former land uses; on the contrary, they are incorporated into the new
designs as a highly visible, even iconic part and maintain a visible degree of historic
continuity. It is this aspect in particular that opens the door for the recovery of landscape or
for, as James Corner (2000: 2) suggests, landscape () as a metaphor for inclusive
multiplicity and pluralism, as in a kind of synthetic overview that enables differences to
play themselves out. In these terms, landscape may still embrace naturalistic and
phenomenological experience but its full efficacy is extended to that of a synthetic and
strategic art form, one that aligns diverse and competing forces (social constituencies,
political desires, ecological processes, program demands, etc., into newly liberating and
interactive alliances. If this understanding is applied to the four case studies, the question
arises to what degree the inclusive multiplicity and pluralism are really inclusive and
represent all the diverse interests of and in a site, or whether particular interests actually start
to exclude others. It seems, though, that the political controversies surrounding Gas Works
Park, Byxbee Park and Duisburg-Nord indicate the emergence of a public discourse that, in
the case of Duisburg-Nord and all other IBA-projects, incorporated a high degree of public
participation. Even though the core design concept for Duisburg-Nord was not changed, a
large part of the suggestions addressing shortcomings and opportunities for uses and users
could be incorporated, further supported by the incremental implementation of the park
design over a period of more than ten years.
6. Conclusion

Brownfields and postindustrial sites are particular because collisions and overlaps between
human and non-human processes occur in an extremely condensed manner, layering issues of
cultural, social, economic and ecological construction and fragmentation in their
interdependencies, hinting to more fundamental questions of human existence and
interrelations with their environment.
The four case studies support the hypothesis that the extremely divergent attitudes to and
interests in postindustrial sites, as well as the complexity and contestation of the sites,
necessitate design solutions that take into account their history, both in its physical remnants
as well as in its socio-cultural and economic contexts. In at least one case, Landschaftspark
Duisburg-Nord, the involvement of the surrounding communities supports Corners idea of
landscape as an agent of producing and enriching culture (2000: 4). The degree of
representation and involvement of the divergent interests in both the process and the physical
design are then indicators for the success of the design.
The case studies suggest that the issue of temporality and its consideration in the design
significantly influences its success. Sebastien Marot (2003:39) suggests understanding design
as a temporal infrastructure, to apply an active regard for the memory of the site and to
understand both the site and the design as a process. This requires an in-depth instead of a
planar, remote reading of the landscape the perceived surface with its cultural, social,
economic, ecological connections and implications assumes a thickness that becomes
inhabitable. Site and design then can both be constituted as fields of relations rather than just
merely the arrangement of objects on a surface.
References:
Marot, S. (2003) Sub-Urbanism and the Art of Memory. London: Architectural Association.
Corner, J. (2000) Recovering landscape as critical cultural practice, in Corner, J. (ed.) Recovering
Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture. Princeton: Princeton Architectural
Press, pp. 1-26.