Cities As Systems: Reinventing Functions for Abandoned Areas

Cities as Systems: Reinventing Functions for Abandoned Areas

Rui Roda1 PhD candidate at the Politecnico di Milano [email protected]

Abstract The reflections contained in this paper are part of the enlarged debate on the in-depth systemic changes affecting the industrial and service functions in the contemporary city. This contribution tries to highlight the dichotomy between two historical contexts: the former cultural context, which encompassed the now abandoned industrial structures, and the present context. Following this perspective, a parallel will be drawn between the changes that have taken place in the urban structure on the one hand, and in society on the other. Although multiple factors are part of these urban and social processes - the analysis of which goes beyond the scope of this paper - an effort will be made to focus on technology2, social dynamics and their relationship to these empty spaces. It is argued that some characteristics of technological and social processes overlap and may achieve a perfect symbiosis as their dynamics converge to give shape to an urban process of regeneration. In this sense, an analogy is proposed between two overlapping networks: the urban structure and the world network. Through these overlapping fabrics, points of junction and points of discontinuity may emerge. As a hypothesis we may assume that abandoned areas are independent points - that is discontinued points. However, it is exactly their "emptiness" that represents an added value: they are an ideal platform on which to locate both technological and social structures. By “empty spaces” I mean entities that might interact with technology, while establishing a relationship with new lifestyles which is simultaneously independent and symbiotic. These spaces might be interpreted as either memories of the past or renewed presences, remodelled on the technological and the social complexity of the future.

1 This work is part of a doctoral research that has been carried out at the Politecnico di Milano 2The term “technology” used throughout this paper refers to possible products and systems which can allow abandoned buildings to be reused. Con il termine “tecnologia”, che ricorre frequentemente nella presente riflessione, si intende far riferimento ai possibili prodotti, dei sistemi e delle tecnologie costruttrici di sistemi architettonici che permettano la rifunzionalizzazione degli edifici dismessi. By underlining the phenomenon of now abandoned industrial areas, a possible scenario for re-use will be outlined.

Key-words Contemporary metropolis, cities as systems, reconversion of abandoned areas.

An inoperative production world: present perfect continuous The large structures that were built for industrial societies in the early stages of their development were icons of the "paleotechnical"3 paradise of an "industrial city" (Mumford, 1982), which, as it appears from the contributions of many scholars, was the mirror of a mechanical society. These abandoned brownfield sites represent a great heritage from the past, which is currently ignored. This phenomenon is most visible in industrialized countries like Italy, Germany, the UK and France. Figure 1 illustrates these scenarios through several typologies, such as silos and warehouses.

Figure 1. Abandoned industrial structures

Analysing the numerous historical studies which have focused on this period, various interpretations can be seen in relation to space and time. In the past, these two variables offered a comforting vision of rational stability, thanks to the many cycles of expansion in industrial society. In this context, abandoned areas raise several questions of different types: cyclical or structural change, de-industrialization and its several variables (employees, product, demand for spaces, etc.), especially de-industrialization dominated by new and different technological patterns4 (Gastaldo, 1989). Partly as a result of the subsequent cycles of expansion, the history of metropolises has seen the emergence of other types of buildings designed for specific functions, for example office buildings. These are the result of the great technological upgrades that have developed from social dynamics in large cities, fostering the concentration of administrative bodies, a sort of remote control, driven by a technology which consolidated this entire sector (Mumford, 1982). The result was the erection of large office buildings, which, in their turn, led to the emergence of sub-districts in the urban fabric. "A sort of vertical file of human beings, with uniform windows, uniform façades, uniform rooms, one floor above the other, in competition with other high-rises for light, air and

3 Term used by Mumford, in The City In History, p. 483, in which he offer refers to the great urban changes experienced by the industrialized world and the transition from a rural culture to an industrial culture. The author particularly refers to the period between 1820 and 1900. 4 Gastaldo P. (1989) Cosa c’è dietro i vuoti. In: AAVV (1989) La città Europea. Nuove città e vecchi luoghi di lavoro, Bologna, Ed. Fiere di Bologna. financial prestige", as described by Mumford (1982, p. 577). This typology found its original form in the United States in the late 19th century. Since my purpose is not to carry out an exhaustive study, I will use the Italian case as a representative one. Italy has approximately 3000 ha of abandoned areas, almost entirely industrial (Dansero, 1993)5.

A period of great change is currently occurring in the office sector. As a result of technological upgrades, the Internet economy and cyberspace, and social changes, this sector is undergoing new changes in the work dynamic (Rifkin, 2000). Today, in the emerging Internet economy, a process is being identified in which companies readjust to an increasingly less tangible space. According to Rifkin (2000), there is presently a trend towards an increasingly clear contraction of workspaces. One of the reasons is the trend among companies to access new work dynamics and new services (just-in-time, leasing, outsourcing). Consequently, it is hard to find an opportunity to use these buildings within cities; considered useless, they are finally abandoned6. Even those more recent office buildings present symptoms of “abandonment”. The expression “to rent” visible in Figure 2 could be interpreted as evidence of great changes in the urban space.

Figure 2. Evidence of empty spaces in the inner city that were designed for a past market.

The phenomenon of abandoned buildings in these two sectors (industrial and offices) introduces a disturbing element of disorder into urban space, resulting in neglected and anonymous spaces which very often are just a memory of a bygone era. In their essence, they represent an absolute lack of integration of the new uses of and for the area. In a passive way, these spaces contribute to increasing disorder and marginality; they are elements devoid of any function which contribute to urban degradation. The city, at this point, faces serious and radical discontinuities in its urban fabric. It is important to emphasise the potential value that these empty boxes represent if they are reused in a flexible way. These are spaces that often

5 According to the author, no nationwide estimates of the abandoned areas exist. The figure of 3000 ha. only refers to the main urban areas. In Italy, this figure comes from the results of several censuses, which were carried out on a local level with different survey methods and as many definitions of the census subject. Dansero, E. (1993) Dentro ai Vuoti. Dismissione industriale e transformazioni urbane a Torino. Torino, Ed. Libreria Cortina. 6 The growing phenomenon of the abandonment of office buildings is considered extremely important. No studies are known which have directly tackled this aspect, possibly because it is a recent and spontaneous phenomenon. Some trends have indirectly indicated significant changes in this sector, for example that of outsourcing. In the case of Italy, several sectors have adopted outsourcing, recording an average yearly growth of 10-15%. Source: “Come cambia la geografia mondiale dell’occupazione”. Economy, no. 20, year II, May 2004, pp. 92 – 98. experience unplanned, informal occupations of unruly dwelling, lacking any order and principle. It is a spontaneous disorder, which in the end represents the reflection of their value and ability - a potential that is awaiting an opportunity to re-functionalize itself according to new dynamics of the city.

New social dynamics: links to a Flexible Metropolis The hypothesis of re-generation, the re-use of these empty boxes, is considered more as an opportunity than as a problem to be solved. The historically proven ability of architecture to resist transformations and constant changes, and to always re-adjust itself to new needs should also be pointed out. According to Beguinot (1999), our cities are "city-networks", connected on a planetary scale, in which the physical relationship with the urban fabric is often detached from the "network" itself. The network is built and nurtured by the new "species", the homo tecnologicus, as stated by Longo (2001). The author considers that society is living a perfect symbiosis with technology, whose result manifests itself in the formation of a "global brain". This “symbiont" has been dealt with by scholars of transversal subjects: Ken Friedman, Giuseppe Longo, Guido Martinotti, Dematteis and others.

This network, which Friedman (1996) calls “Virtual Cities”7, is something that overlaps with the physical space of cities. This paper will consider the hypothesis that these disconnected points between the urban fabric and the global network may be due to the presence of these empty boxes. These spaces, which are not connected with the planetary network, represent structures that were built in the past for the purpose of nurturing a "modern" society (Bauman, 2000). They were icons of "modernity”, they represented the model of this (Fordist) society, where human activities were reduced to simple, preestablished and routine motions (Bauman, 2000). According to the author, "human activities were destined to be obedient, mechanically executed and without mental faculties being used, excluding any spontaneity or individual initiatives." (p. 33) Nowadays, considering the hypothesis of re-functionalizing these spaces to the planetary network means considering Longo’s symbiont (2001) as the key component to link the network with the empty box. As social evolution brings new contexts, it is necessary to consider a new design dynamic involving a dialogue between technology, the empty box and the symbiont. This homo tecnologicus lives in an environment that is different from that of "modern" society (Bauman, 2000). It is a man who has lost his enthusiasm for height, weight and density, which used to fascinate him (Rifkin, 2000). While, in the past, he constructed huge artefacts, today his goal is instantaneous communication. According to Bauman (1999), we are part of a society which is experiencing a great mobility and in which uncertainty is a constant element. The author claims that greater freedom leads to less frustration, but can at the same time bring insecurity. These “values” can make an important contribution to methods of intervention and the reconnection of these links.

7 To Ken Friedman (1996), The virtual cities will, in most important ways, serve physical cities. Some authors have investigated this theme, as such Castells (1996), Beguinot (1998), Rifkin (2000) and Manzini (2004), among others.

Based on the concept of "smart connection", Beguinot (1998) consider that architecture can adapt itself or interconnect with the global network. Starting from this premise, I would suggest that these empty boxes are architectural structures which can be reused. In this way, the hardware of “heavy modernity" (Bauman, 2000) could be included in the "smart connection", and the result would certainly help to re- qualify and revive the urban environment, improving the quality of city life. Connecting these boxes to the network means considering the possible technological dynamics inside. In order for these empty spaces to take part in the network, it must be nurtured and enlarged to provide for new and ever-changing technologies. The “re- functioning” of these spaces according to this social and technological scenario might also be an opportunity for a natural and steady upgrade of the city itself. This upgrade represents a process of connection of the physical space - which may be a part of large fluxes, of the new economy (Rifkin, 2000), of mobility and social uncertainty (Bauman, 1999) - to the network. The reuse of these spaces would also make it possible to reorder the city, directly or indirectly, and would mean connecting these spaces with a new technological and social grammar.

Regeneration Regenerating8 these spaces might be considered an engine for urban development (Dematteis, 1999), an opportunity to conceive a new and flexible architecture of the city, a "non-material architecture", an empty space that is permeable in all directions, an indispensable element for the "wired city" (Beguinot, 1999). Reusing these "empty boxes" may be an example of "non-material architecture" and of its use in the logic of the "wired city". In this sense, we can imagine the beginning of a new approach to the project which might create a new social and technological interface and, consequently, a new way of considering the city. As stated by Branzi (1990, p.11): “The metropolis is a reality, but it is also a concept that varies over time, in history; it corresponds to a general theoretical model of the world, which is modified from time to time in order to propose new configurations.” This context induces to concern new visions of project. According to Manzini (2004), this vision must consider the necessities of the “fluid world”. Partly as a result of conurbation, some of these buildings are already located inside cities, and very often occupy prime sites. No less important is the development of an economic framework which will be favorable to this scenario. The phenomenon of abandoned structures is not a problem, but rather an opportunity for economic growth, based on their ‘re- functionalizing’ (Cunningham, 2002). According to Cunningham, only the development of "restoration" will finally increase society's awareness,

8 According to the Roberts’ definition (2000, p. 17), “urban regeneration is a comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental condition of an area that has been subject to change” establishing the third cycle of social life, which consists of this "restoration"9. For the author, economic growth in the past was based on the exploitation of new resources and new territories; now, however, it is based on the expansion of existing resources. Developing Cunningham’s idea, the reintegration and reuse of these empty structures in the urban fabric may help to stimulate a new economy: "the restoration economy".

Empty Space as a Value There have already been examples of this re-integration of spaces in the residential sector, as can be seen in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Buenos Aires’ Lofts: reuse of silos and an ex-textile factory.

The purpose here is not to give an exhaustive picture of the events; however, some aspects are worth mentioning. The loft phenomenon began and developed in New York in the '50s (Rykwert, 2000). The appropriation of these spaces started suddenly, through the desire to take over patterns of alternative living, which represented a lifestyle that was considered out of the norm. The phenomenon is considered as a spontaneous need of artists, musicians and individuals who were often classified as foreign to the parameters of "modernity". In the eyes of this society, they lived irregular, disorderly free lives, which were subject to criticism in those times, but which are now mixed with the scenario of current society. It was something that got close to, or anticipated, our present "desires". Nowadays, the appearance of the "loft typology" reflects a strong desire for this type of space, or perhaps for this form of dwelling. This is the case with "false lofts", which do not originate as a solution for re-functionalizing a structure of the past, but are buildings designed and planned specifically to be lofts. I would like to mention a curious and tangible example occurring in Brazil10. In the city of Florianópolis an entire complex is being built. The initiative is supported by a nationally renowned painter, who gives the project his name and the image of his works; a kind of unconscious homage to the age of the original lofts. The increasing popularity of these "fake" structures could be interpreted as the market taking hold of a change in contemporary living. In Florianópolis, this lifestyle is promoted with the slogan "The first loft in the city!" The building looks more like a factory than a traditional residential

9 Cunningham, S. (2002) The Restoration Economy - The greatest new growth frontier. San Francisco, Berret-Koehler Publishers. 10 Data collected by the author in Florianópolis, September 2004 space, but it is perceived by ordinary people as something new, original and desirable. By a kind of indistinct suggestion the building identifies itself as a technological box or the surface of a machine. It is not clear whether this growing market represents a genuine desire for a new lifestyle or the institutionalization of one. Since no abandoned buildings exist, new structures are built to reproduce them in a kind of false re-functioning.

Open Questions As stated by Bauman (2000) : "Not much can be won with long-term considerations." If solid modernity considered perpetual duration as the ideal, "fluid" modernity does not consider the function of perpetual duration. “The short term has replaced the long term and made instantaneity its ultimate ideal.” (p. 145) Emphasizing what is expressed above, I would like to create an analogy with the potential of empty spaces, imagining their capacity to be involved in a dialogue with technology that might answer Bauman's uncertainty. The hardware of "heavy modernity" (Bauman, 2000), which was often characterized by a mechanical aesthetic and conditioned by Cartesian scales, can offer the ideal platform to host these social and technological upgrades; an imperfect and planned re-use for a constant uncertainty. Intangibility, flexibility and transversality are elements of the empty box, the logic of the "city-network", and current social dynamics. I would compare the empty box to a computer case, in which the software, or even better the interfaces, can be changed or replaced by the “symbiont”! All this system of social, economic and technological relationships assumes the existence of an empty space in which change can occur, where, as stated by Beguinot (1999), "a concept of change in the architectural space is necessary, to bring about a new design methodology by which a new, possibly ‘intelligent’, architecture, can be produced", a space that can be continuously adapted, like an unfinished project for a society full of uncertainties (Bauman, 2000). From this consideration and analogy, the development of a technological and social interface in these abandoned spaces can be imagined which would be open, reversible, temporary, continually evolving according to changing conditions and social needs. It is necessary to consider how a connection to the “network” can be maintained. We should probably imagine an everchanging scenario of interaction and synchronization between the Symbiont and the technology. We can imagine a project that can be ‘re-functioned’ and ‘re-function’ itself in order to support various technological upgrades. These aspects highlight the need to involve technological innovation to provide answers, as stated by Beguinot (1999), in the search for "flexibility, permeability, as the result of flexibility taken to the limits." This fluidity and flexibility make the project a kind of everchanging “game", which provides a constant freedom of interpretation, just like a society which, as affirmed by Beguinot (1999), is radically changing ways of interacting. The empty space can be considered as a product which is continuously recycled to respond to the multiple requirements of our society, as stated by Bauman (2000) when defining the postmodern consumer: "in the life-as-a- game of postmodern consumers, the rules continually change during the game. Therefore, the most sensible strategy is to finish each game quickly. [...] the rules keep changing before the game is over." (p. 36).

Acknowledgements Part of the contents of this paper was discussed with Silvia Pizzocaro, professor at Politecnico di Milano. Special thanks also to my advisor, professor Andrea Branzi. The research work at the base of the paper benefits from founding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affaires - Direzione Generale per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo.

References: Bauman, Z. (1999) La società dell’incertezza. Bologna, Il Molino. Bauman, Z. (2000) Liquid Modernity, Polity Press, Oxford. Beguinot, C. (1998) L’arquitettura è intelligente se è capace di (inter) connettere. Telema, No 15, Inverno. Branzi, A. (1990) La quarta metropoli: Design e cultura ambientale. Milano, Domus Academy. Castells, M. (1996) A sociedade em rede. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2002. Cunningham, S. (2002) The Restoration Economy - The greatest new growth frontier. San Francisco, Berret-Koehler Publishers. Dansero, E. (1993) Dentro ai Vuoti. Dismissione industriale e transformazioni urbane a Torino. Torino, Ed. Libreria Cortina. De Matteis, G. (1998) Non basta una forte identità, la città vive solo se è un "nodo". Telema, No 15, Inverno. Friedman, Ken. (1996) Restructuring the City. Thoughts on Urban Patterns in the Information Society. Stockholm, The Swedish Institute for Future Studies. Gastaldo P. (1989) Cosa c’è dietro i vuoti. In: AAVV (1989) La città Europea. Nuove città e vecchi luoghi di lavoro, Bologna, Ed. Fiere di Bologna. Kratchmarov, Z. (2004) Lo specialista? Si trova in India. Economy, No 20, anno II , Maggio, pp. 92-98. Manzini, E. (2004) Il design in un mondo fluido. In: Bertola, P., Manzini, E. (2004) Design multiverso: appunti di fenomenologia del design. Milano: Edizioni Poli.Design, pp.15-21. Martinotti, G. (1993) Metropolis. Bologna, Il Mulino. Martinotti, G. (1998) Il vero centro si è già spostato non è più "dentro", sta in periferia. Telema, No 15, Inverno. Mumford,L. (1961) A cidade na história: suas origens, desenvolvimento e perspectivas. 2nd. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Martins Fontes, 1982. Roberts, P., Sykes, H. (2000) Urban Regeneration. London, Sage Pub. Ropohl, G. (1999) Philosophy of socio-technical systems, Phil & Tech, 4 (3), Spring. Roqueplo, P. (1983) Penser la technique. Paris, Editions du Seuil. Rykwerk, J. (2000) La seduzione del luogo. Storia e futuro della città. 3rd ed. Torino, Einaudi. Bibliographical Note Rui Roda: Born 1967, Lisbon, Portugal. Bsc Architecture at University of Lusiada of Lisbon, 1993. Master Degree in Industrial Design at Polytechnic School of Design di Milano, 1994. Ph.D. candidate in Industrial Design and Multimedia Communication at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, under adviser of Prof. Andrea Branzi, sponsored by the Italian Government doctoral scholarship for international postgraduate students. Academic activities: researcher at Unità di studio e sviluppo teorie e culture di ricerca in disegno industriale - USDI - Politecnico di Milano, professor at School of Arts of Coimbra and Lusofona University of Lisbon, Portugal. Professional activities: consulter of Portuguese companies in corporative identity management and integrated communication. He took part of many projects with design companies, such as Sottsass Associati, and is member of Portuguese Architectural Council. Principal areas of research interest: reuse of abandoned buildings in urban space, design systems applied to restoration, contemporary research in design.