The study investigates the role played by the industrial heritage within urban regeneration processes and examines how the built and open spaces of the industrial fabric can perform as a propeller of change and as a redevelopment strategy through adaptive reuse. Furthermore, the study questions how derelict industrial spaces can be reimagined to contribute to the local community and reinforce the existing local identity of a peripheral neighbourhood in Bucharest, affected by the process of deindustrialisation. Through a historical study, the thesis examines the industrialisation and deindustrialisation processes that shaped today’s context of Bucharest, highlighting the importance of Malaxa Factories as a relevant issue at a city level, as well as a potential project for urban regeneration. Although the factories have been acknowledged as heritage buildings of national value, the matter has been neglected by public authorities, thus creating a disruption between the city and its eastern peripheral neighbourhoods. To understand the adequacy of measures that can be employed on the chosen site, research on urban regeneration was carried out, through an extensive literature study as well as through an analysis of case studies of various scales and approaches, focused on the urban regeneration of industrial sites. To make an informed decision regarding the urban regeneration process, as well as to understand the various potentialities and criticalities of the site, an urban scale analysis and a built environment analysis of the site, focused on materiality, decay, use, transformation etc. were conducted. The urban scale analysis revealed several ‘urban nodes’ that could help re-establish the site-city-neighbourhood connection, whilst the built environment analysis highlighted that although there is still a core of industrial activity, a great degree of wastelands, as well as abandoned buildings, with a great potential for public uses, is present on the site. The final part of the study comprises all the research effort into a design proposal. The proposal investigates the triggering process of transformation by envisioning a potential phasing for the site, passing through short-term and mid-term options and solutions. The process defined is an open one and suggested as a methodology for a long-term project of reappropriation of the Malaxa site, through which a system of interdependences between the open and built environment trigger the regeneration of the entire area, whilst keeping its industrial core active. The project, therefore, seeks to define an alternative centre for the city by encouraging a mix of uses, strengthening its connection to the past, and creating opportunities that help in reshaping the local identity, playing an important role in the sustainability and development of Bucharest.
Lo studio indaga il ruolo svolto dal patrimonio industriale all’interno dei processi di rigenerazione urbana ed esamina come gli spazi costruiti e aperti del tessuto industriale possano fungere da propulsore del cambiamento e da strategia di riqualificazione attraverso il riuso adattivo. Inoltre, lo studio si interroga su come gli spazi industriali abbandonati possano essere possano essere reinventati a vantaggio della comunità locale e rafforzare l’identità locale esistente di un quartiere periferico di Bucarest, colpito dal processo di deindustrializzazione. Attraverso uno studio storico, la tesi esamina i processi di industrializzazione e deindustrializzazione che hanno plasmato il contesto odierno di Bucarest, evidenziando l’importanza delle fabbriche Malaxa come questione rilevante a livello cittadino, nonché come potenziale progetto di rigenerazione urbana. Sebbene le fabbriche siano state riconosciute come edifici di valore nazionale, la questione è stata trascurata dalle autorità pubbliche, creando così una barriera tra la città e i suoi quartieri periferici orientali. Per comprendere l’adeguatezza delle misure che possono essere impiegate sul sito prescelto, è stata condotta una ricerca sulla rigenerazione urbana, attraverso un ampio studio della letteratura e l’analisi di casi di studio di varia scala e approccio, incentrati sulla rigenerazione urbana di aree industriali. Per prendere una decisione consapevole in merito al processo di rigenerazione urbana e per comprendere le varie potenzialità e criticità del sito, sono state condotte un’analisi della scala urbana e un’analisi dell’ambiente costruito del sito, incentrate su matericità, degrado, uso, trasformazione ecc. L’analisi della scala urbana ha evidenziato diversi “nodi urbani” che potrebbero contribuire a ristabilire la connessione sito-città-quartiere, mentre l’analisi dell’ambiente costruito ha messo in evidenza che, sebbene esista ancora un nucleo di attività industriali, il sito è caratterizzato da edifici dismessi e spazi aperti degradati e incolti che hanno però un grande potenziale per nuovi usi pubblici.. La parte finale dello studio sintetizza lo sforza di ricerca in una proposta progettuale. La proposta indaga il processo di attivazione della trasformazione immaginando una potenziale fase per il sito, passando attraverso opzioni e soluzioni a breve e medio termine. Il processo proposto è un processo aperto, esemplificativo di una metodologia per un progetto a lungo termine che consenta la riappropriazione del sito di Malaxa attraverso l’attivazione di un sistema di interdipendenze tra spazi aperti e costruiti che inneschi la rigenerazione dell’intera area, pur mantenendo il suo nucelo industriale attivo. Il progetto, quindi, cerca di definire un centro alternativo per la città, incoraggiando un mix di usi, rafforzando il suo legame con il passato e creando opportunità che contribuiscono a ridisegnare l’identità locale, giocando un ruolo importante nella sostenibilità e nello sviluppo di Bucarest.
The transformation of a former socialist capital : the impact of industrial heritage regeneration of a peripheral neighborhood in Bucharest: the case of Malaxa Factories
Dumitru, Cosmin-Andi
2022/2023
Abstract
The study investigates the role played by the industrial heritage within urban regeneration processes and examines how the built and open spaces of the industrial fabric can perform as a propeller of change and as a redevelopment strategy through adaptive reuse. Furthermore, the study questions how derelict industrial spaces can be reimagined to contribute to the local community and reinforce the existing local identity of a peripheral neighbourhood in Bucharest, affected by the process of deindustrialisation. Through a historical study, the thesis examines the industrialisation and deindustrialisation processes that shaped today’s context of Bucharest, highlighting the importance of Malaxa Factories as a relevant issue at a city level, as well as a potential project for urban regeneration. Although the factories have been acknowledged as heritage buildings of national value, the matter has been neglected by public authorities, thus creating a disruption between the city and its eastern peripheral neighbourhoods. To understand the adequacy of measures that can be employed on the chosen site, research on urban regeneration was carried out, through an extensive literature study as well as through an analysis of case studies of various scales and approaches, focused on the urban regeneration of industrial sites. To make an informed decision regarding the urban regeneration process, as well as to understand the various potentialities and criticalities of the site, an urban scale analysis and a built environment analysis of the site, focused on materiality, decay, use, transformation etc. were conducted. The urban scale analysis revealed several ‘urban nodes’ that could help re-establish the site-city-neighbourhood connection, whilst the built environment analysis highlighted that although there is still a core of industrial activity, a great degree of wastelands, as well as abandoned buildings, with a great potential for public uses, is present on the site. The final part of the study comprises all the research effort into a design proposal. The proposal investigates the triggering process of transformation by envisioning a potential phasing for the site, passing through short-term and mid-term options and solutions. The process defined is an open one and suggested as a methodology for a long-term project of reappropriation of the Malaxa site, through which a system of interdependences between the open and built environment trigger the regeneration of the entire area, whilst keeping its industrial core active. The project, therefore, seeks to define an alternative centre for the city by encouraging a mix of uses, strengthening its connection to the past, and creating opportunities that help in reshaping the local identity, playing an important role in the sustainability and development of Bucharest.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/211693