European Industrial and Engineering Heritage as an Illustration of Current Challenges in Defining Heritage and Its Uses

Abstract

Nowhere is the need for adaptive reuse more evident than in the case of industrial and engineering sites, which are in very large supply as a result of industrial delocalization and accelerated technical obsolescence. This paper intends to show through examples how industrial and engineering heritage has been saved and reused in a contemporary context, while allowing future generations to retain the heritage associated with the sites. Case studies include the conversion of industrial wastelands in Germany into lakes or parks, the saving of a derelict heavy industry complex for education purposes in Czech Republic, and the handling of industrial heritage as part of an urban renewal program in Brussels. This paper cites as examples a number of Europa Nostra’s annual heritage awards following the action of Europa Nostra’s Industrial and Engineering Heritage Committee (IEHC). One of the Grand Prix was given to a Brussels Art Deco brewery reconverted into an art and cultural complex, while in addition endeavoring to reuse an earlier set of machines from the nineteenth century for educational purposes. Other examples include electricity and gas plants, historic flood control waterworks in Holland, and reuse of steam railway rolling stock. A recurring issue is the reuse of the inside space.