Industrial Ruins: Conservation Experiences in Vacant Heritage Buildings

Abstract

Industrial heritage conveys archaeological evidence of past industrial technologies and processes, engineering, architecture and town‐planning. Due to the fast development in technology, many former industrial structures and premises have been abandoned.

The research topic is chosen from Eskişehir. Eskişehir is one of the leading cities in Turkey's industrialization. This study focuses on historic zone of factories in Eskişehir, which is known for its urban problems. One of the central problems in the preservation of industrial heritage is the lack of effective dialogue between institutions and stakeholders regarding private property rights; urban land development and the demand for new construction, legal and administrative processes; increase in public demands; shortage of economic resources; etc. In the solution of such problems, the appropriate conditions are not always realized, and thus structuring channels of communication between stakeholders and decision-makers may fail. At this stage, industrial assets lose their valuable constituent parts rapidly.

The study examines the effects of transformation of industrial heritage into empty spaces in the context of urban memory, and questions these spaces that have gained value over time as interest of the contemporary art and architecture. The aim is to analyze the diversity of abandoned industrial buildings and to understand the qualities that need to be protected by revealing the connections of these buildings and spaces with the old industrial processes in the context of spatial experience, application, representation and identity.