Seventy years ago, the architectural historian, Michael Rix, coined the expression “industrial archaeology”, to describe the state of abandonment of industrial plants, in Britain, after the Third Industrial Revolution. Over the decades, the phenomenon underwent an interesting evolution, getting the attention of the greatest international organizations that recognized some industrial sites part of the human heritage.
Industrial landscapes converted into green areas and cultural districts, the process for the recognition of industrial heritage and the definition of its destiny is not over yet. This especially because of a growing extension of abandoned industrial landscapes, which in recent decades have increased proportionally to the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, still underway, and strengthened by the long-term effects of the pandemic.
Uses and society change and, consequently, spaces and architectures of urban centers transform. So, if it is true that the appearance of a city changes together with society, it is also true that buildings’ style and function are never separated from the present.
In a re-use project, the greatest difficulty consists, in fact, in working with an object designed by another architect. Deepening the correct level of knowledge, considering its material and immaterial values, weaknesses and shortcomings, finding the balance between empathy and critical distance are all elements that require an objective, “cold” point of view. «The architect pays the utmost attention to the pre-existing object and not to one’s navel».
Uses and society change and, consequently, spaces and architectures of urban centers transform. So, if it is true that the appearance of a city changes together with society, it is also true that buildings’ style and function are never separated from the present.
In a re-use project, the greatest difficulty consists, in fact, in working with an object designed by another architect. Deepening the correct level of knowledge, considering its material and immaterial values, weaknesses and shortcomings, finding the balance between empathy and critical distance are all elements that require an objective, “cold” point of view. «The architect pays the utmost attention to the pre-existing object and not to one’s navel».
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