Reuse and Reintegration of Industrial Heritage in an Historic Maritime City: The Case Study of Trondheim, Norway.

Ref.: 74
Área temática: 01 Integridad física de los paisajes urbanos históricos
Fecha de recepción: 15/11/2008

AUTORES (* Autor principal)

TURNER-WALKER, Gordon * (China) - National Yunlin University of Science & Technology

ABSTRACT

In the later half of the 20th Century, many developed countries experienced dramatic changes in their societies as a result of a shift from traditional heavy industries to high technology manufacturing and service industries, such as retailing, healthcare, leisure centres and tourism. In the traditional industrial communities of northern Europe these economic and social developments had serious impacts on town planning and architecture. Large areas of some industrial towns became largely derelict as manufacturing transferred elsewhere. Factory buildings stood empty and soon fell into disrepair with the result that many were in danger of demolition. Due to the growth of towns and cities during the 1970s former industrial areas now lay much closer to residential areas and city centres and, as a result, derelict factory sites became ripe for redevelopment. With the passage of time the public gradually began to acknowledge a broader definition of physical heritage so that it became increasingly acceptable to include industrial archaeology and derelict factories as worthy of protection. Consequently, local planning authorities saw the virtue in encouraging the restoration and reuse of old industrial sites by newly emerging small businesses housing rather than demolishing old industrial buildings that had become locally recognised landmarks.

By the 19th century, Trondheim's 800-year-old harbour was becoming too small to serve steamboats, and as a result the city started expanding beyond its medieval boundaries with the development of new docking facilities on land reclaimed from Trondheim's fjord. During the later 19th and early 20th centuries, Trondheim had a large engineering industry centred around these new maritime facilities in the eastern part of the city. The most significant engineering company was Trondhjems Mekaniske Værksted (TMV) which was founded in 1872. Large workshops in brick were built in 1875, and the area around TMV was soon surrounded by many smaller engineering works and a major shipyard. For a long time, TMV was the city's largest employer until it was finally closed down in 1983, by which time the chimneys and buildings around TMV had become familiar landmarks. The economic problems of the 1980s caused a great deal of property in the east of Trondheim, especially those areas formerly important to maritime trades to become abandoned and fall into disrepair. The neighbourhood became commercially a dead zone.

During the 1990s and continuing into the present century, there has been a progressive development and renovation movement for Trondheim's waterfront properties. In October 2000, TMV reopened for business, but this time as Trondheim's largest shopping centre with a total of 57 shops, a fitness centre, spa, cafes and restaurants. The conversion of the old shipyard buildings has revitalised the whole area, which had previously become seriously run down. This includes the construction of several new apartment buildings offering both modest and high end accommodation. The nearby docks have been converted to a marina for luxury yachts. There has been a simultaneous revitalisation of smaller industrial units around the former shipyards as high-tech businesses, cafes, restaurants.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Turner-Walker, G. (2006) Two Perspectives on European Industrial Heritage: Trondhjems Mekaniske Værksted, Norway and the North of England Open Air Museum. in The Second Life of Ruin: Cross-National Case Studies of Industrial Heritage and its Revitalization. (Kai-Cheng Yang ed.) Published by the Council for Cultural Affairs, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, 78-87. (in Chinese)