Lingotto's Resilience: How Forgetting the Past Fuels Urban Regeneration
The successful reinvention of industrial heritage sites can be achieved by strategically moving beyond their original functional and symbolic meanings, allowing for new interpretations and uses.
European Planning Studies · 2016
Key Findings
- 01Lingotto's resilience is linked to its ability to adapt and evolve beyond its original industrial purpose.
- 02A deliberate 'forgetting' of the past industrial identity can facilitate new meanings and uses, fostering urban regeneration.
- 03The site serves as a microcosm of Turin's broader strategies for economic and urban resilience.
Application
Design takeaway
Embrace adaptive reuse by allowing new functionalities and narratives to redefine historical spaces, rather than being constrained by their original purpose.
How to apply
When tasked with redesigning an old factory or historical building, explore how its current form can be reinterpreted for a new purpose, perhaps by downplaying its original industrial elements and highlighting its potential for community, commercial, or cultural activities.
Project actions
- 01When selecting a site for a design project, consider its history and how its past identity might influence its future potential.
- 02Think about how to introduce new functions that might 'overwrite' or reinterpret the site's original purpose.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Provides a nuanced perspective on heritage and regeneration, challenging conventional preservationist approaches.
- +Offers a valuable case study for understanding urban resilience through the lens of spatial transformation.
Limitations
The strategy of 'forgetting' might be sensitive in contexts where historical preservation is paramount or legally mandated, requiring careful negotiation.
Reliability & validity
The study's validity relies on the in-depth analysis of a single, complex case. Reliability could be enhanced by comparative studies across multiple sites with similar transformations.
Think critically
To what extent is the 'forgetting' of a site's past a deliberate design strategy, and when does it become a form of erasure that could be detrimental?
Design Principles
"Adaptive reuse requires a strategic detachment from original functional and symbolic legacies to foster contemporary relevance and resilience."
Designers and urban planners often face the challenge of repurposing historical or industrial sites. Understanding how to balance preservation with the need for contemporary relevance is crucial for creating vibrant and functional spaces that resonate with current societal needs.
What This Means for Your Design
Sometimes, to make an old building useful again, you have to stop thinking so much about what it used to be and focus on what it could be now.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the adaptive reuse of existing structures and the importance of considering the site's future potential over its historical identity.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2016). Turin and Lingotto: resilience, forgetting and the reinvention of place. European Planning Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2016.1254598 Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/61f798c9-9d38-4e49-8281-521fcdfb85ef/lingotto-s-resilience-how-forgetting-the-past-fuels-urban-regeneration
Paragraph starter
The adaptive reuse of historical industrial sites, as exemplified by the Lingotto case study, suggests that successful regeneration can be achieved by strategically moving beyond the original functional and symbolic meanings of a place. This approach allows for the integration of new uses and narratives that foster contemporary relevance and urban resilience, rather than being solely constrained by the site's past identity.
Source
European Planning Studies
Turin and Lingotto: resilience, forgetting and the reinvention of place
journal · 2016
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about lingotto's resilience: how forgetting the past fuels urban regeneration?
- Embrace adaptive reuse by allowing new functionalities and narratives to redefine historical spaces, rather than being constrained by their original purpose. Evidence: European Planning Studies (2016).
- Why does "Lingotto's Resilience: How Forgetting the Past Fuels Urban Regeneration" matter for design?
- Designers and urban planners often face the challenge of repurposing historical or industrial sites. Understanding how to balance preservation with the need for contemporary relevance is crucial for creating vibrant and functional spaces that resonate with current societal needs.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Embrace adaptive reuse by allowing new functionalities and narratives to redefine historical spaces, rather than being constrained by their original purpose.
- What were the main findings?
- Lingotto's resilience is linked to its ability to adapt and evolve beyond its original industrial purpose.. A deliberate 'forgetting' of the past industrial identity can facilitate new meanings and uses, fostering urban regeneration.. The site serves as a microcosm of Turin's broader strategies for economic and urban resilience.
- What research method was used?
- Case Study Analysis.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2016 journal from European Planning Studies.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When tasked with redesigning an old factory or historical building, explore how its current form can be reinterpreted for a new purpose, perhaps by downplaying its original industrial elements and highlighting its potential for community, commercial, or cultural activities.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focuses on a single case study, and the effectiveness of 'forgetting' as a strategy may vary depending on the specific historical, cultural, and economic context of other sites.
- Is there evidence that urban regeneration affects design outcomes?
- The transformation of the Lingotto industrial site demonstrates that successful urban regeneration can involve moving past the original identity of a place, allowing for new uses and meanings to emerge. Designers and urban planners often face the challenge of repurposing historical or industrial sites. Understanding ho Source: European Planning Studies (2016).
- Where does this lingotto research apply?
- Urban planning and architectural regeneration of post-industrial sites. It sits within classic design research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
urban regeneration design research · evidence on urban regeneration · does urban regeneration improve design outcomes · lingotto studies for designers · urban regeneration and lingotto findings · classic design research evidence