Restructuring an Old Industrial District
Emscher Park
Ruhr District, Germany

· Regeneration of the Em­scher River system. The strategy has been to combine small scale repairs (rehabilitation of tributaries, small scale ground­water infiltration designs, and removal of the concrete river lining) with larger scale investments (construction of new sewers and decen­tralized treat­ment facilities). They expect to invest an additional $4.3 billion over the next twenty or thirty years.

· Redevelopment of old industrial sites and structures to create space for jobs in emerging economic sectors. Promotion of “working in the park” has emphasized mixed use developments; high-quality design; an ecological orientation; centralized marketing; provision of public transport, day care and other social supports. A total of 22 sites with 1,235 acres have been developed for business start-ups, small business development, technology, and training schemes.

· Preservation of industrial monuments. The factories, power plants, collieries, foundries, tailing heaps, storage tanks, canal locks and warehouses of the Ruhr District are its link to its industrial past. Many of these industrial monuments have been reused as community centers, arts facilities, exhibition halls, and for other public uses. One building was even restored to its original use as a transformer station, while others have been preserved pend­ing new uses.

· Renovation of housing and neighborhoods. More than two dozen projects — some new construction, some rehabilitation of early 20th Cen tury “worker housing” — have added nearly 3,000 units of housing in the region. The projects have emphasized high standards of design, ecological compatibility, and user involvement. Some were built under the IBA “build simply and by yourself” program.

· Development of community social fabric through citizen involvement, grass roots development projects, employment and training programs, and a variety of other social initiatives.

Innovation and Implementation

The genius of the IBA was that it combined the tradition of innovation carried by the building exhibition format with the existing financing and implementation structures of state and local government, including the Kommunalver­band Ruhrgebiet, a kind of regional council of gov­ernments.

The exhibition staff of 30 brought to­gether architects, planners, designers and academics with community members in symposia, workshops, and exchanges. These formats placed a premium on brain­storming, creativity and innovation in the pursuit of the interwoven themes of ecological repair, economic restructuring, and community development.

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