The languages of reuse : ELIR 2011

The reuse of former industrial canal areas and the resultant regeneration of their waterfront implies investigating the ‘essence’ of the city and the distinctive character that these canal zones imparted to their city in the past. The gradual abandonment of the factories resulted in the weakening of this character. Moreover, factories are being targeted for new developments, especially since they acquired a central position in the consolidated urban growth. As a good practice to relate the old to the new, the interpretation of transformation requires two goals: fi rstly, to create a link between design and industry in order to fully assess the potential of the materials’ engineering and possibility of reuse; secondly, to produce urban architecture integrating with the specifi city of context and to highlight the values of the industrial heritage. This was the aim of the Intensive program ELIR 2011, European Laboratory on Industrial Reuse, granted by the European Commission. Professors and master students from various European Universities as well as from Turkey gathered at the Eindhoven University of Technology for two weeks. At the event they had the opportunity to analyse, discuss and formulate design proposals on the reuse of the former industrial canal zones of fi ve Brabant cities, namely Eindhoven, Helmond, Tilburg, Breda and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, located in the South of The Netherlands. Therefore, this intensive program created an international platform of discussion on the different methods of reuse of industrial sites focussing on the strong relationship between education and profession, where the ‘making’ of architectural designs was the bridge between the two fields. The Languages of Reuse includes a series of essays by the professors and experts participating in ELIR 2011 and also the design proposals elaborated during the international event. Hopefully, the book will be an inspiring source for designers on how to handle heritage values and people’s needs, while aiming at the same time at the preservation of the European cultural identity.