Post Industrial Landscapes aren’t something I generally give much consideration to, but seeing this project in Germany, I am inspired to see these types of sights, and their potential for re-development, in a new light. Designers from Latz+Partners have transformed a 200+ acre site north of Duisberg Germany, which was once an ironworks plant, into gardens, parks, public space, and recreational areas in an experiment to celebrate the industrial past and the hard work that once took place at the this site.
The site now houses trails that follow the former railroad tracks, climbing walls that were once imposing industial walls and buildings, stacks that have been cleaned and transformed into scuba diving practice facilities, whimsical slides that recall large pipes that once connected the site, and even formal gardens. It is certainly worth a visit to the site or at least to Latz+partner‘s website to learn more about it.
See the Google Map of the Location, which is about 30 miles north of Dusseldrof on the Rhine River.
(images: Latz+partner, www.bezreg-muenster.nrw.de, josyannevanderdonk)
Closer to home but not nearly as elaborate is a public space called “the stacks” surrounding the old blast furnaces at Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem PA. http://www.steelstacks.org
That’s what Seattles Gas Works Park ( http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?id=293 ) could have been. If only the city had been a bit less afraid of the lawsuits. I remember learning a lot of unsavoury skills at Gas Works when I was a kid. Fence climbing, Barbed wire mitigation, Authority evasion, and a profound appreciation for the unyielding nature of cast iron pipe.
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