The Future of an Industrial Region

1999: The Ruhr Area: IBA Emscher Park

The Situation:

Change without Growth More than 150 years ago the coal, iron and steel industry arrived at the region around the river Emscher, exhausted and destroyed the landscape. By the 80s and 90s waste land and abandoned industrial sites gave proof to the end of the myth of wealth through this industry. But: what chances do this region finds with respect to its ecological and economic reuse? The International Building Exhibition IBA Emscher Park tried to answer this question.

Workshop of the Renewal of Former Industrial Regions

The federal government of North Rhine-Westphalia opened up the “International Building Exhibition Emscher Park” in 1989 to give “trendsetting impulses”. Actual gains were to work out conceptual and practical advices for an ecological, economical and cultural redevelopment of a region consisting of 17 cities in an area of 70 kilometres length and 15 kilometres latitude. In contrast to former
exhibitions the IBA Emscher Park projects by far exceeded topics like “Living” and “City”. The IBA concentrated on the following topics with more than 100 projects:

The Emscher Landscape Park:

On a track of more than 75 kilometres right through the region 50 projects were realized which were the base of this green project. The industrial nature consists of coalmine woods and artistically arranged heaps. This includes bicycle tracks and exemplary parks. For the first time in the history of building exhibitions the
topic of “landscape planning and landscape architecture” was exposed.

Former industrial buildings became unique event locations and tourist sites.

The industrial culture has meanwhile changed into the most effective label of the region, the densest cultural landscape of Europe. Former industrial sites are locations of culture, sports and events.

The region also gains a trendsetting quality by contemporary housing projects with the following focus:

on the one hand securing the stock especially in the workers‘ areas with garden city qualities, on the other hand setting innovations with new types of building projects on fallows.

Jobs opened up

where job had existed before but now leading to new working and design requirements. On former industrial sites now new business and service locations develop.

Learning from IBA?

The IBA Emscher Park helped to develop many other structural programs in North Rhine-Westphalia: The “Regionals”, which tried to set trendsetting impulses in the region by holistic development programs. IBA created new ways for a specific “change by culture” which convinced the international jury of the competition for “European Capital of Culture 2010”. Worldwide the IBA Emscher Park offered orientation for a new approach to former industrial regions and sites.

More Information

The publication of text and picture is based on the exhibition flyer "IBA meets IBA" by kindly courtesy of M:AI museum for architecture and und engeneering art in Nordrhein-Westfalen and of IBA Hamburg.
Photo: Manfred Vollmer