Reactivating the City of Heerlen with a Landscape Approach Anyi Zhou 4119592 Landscape Architecture

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Trial back to the landscape - Reactivating the city of Heerlen with a landscape approach Anyi Zhou 4119592 Landscape Architecture

Introduction Research question Site study

Site location Metaphor from mining based infrastructure lines Green metropolis is a pioneering European project for extensive tri-national collaboration between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Its starting point is to develop a sustainable future for the post-industry area. As one of the major tasks in the project, to explore possibilities for new energy has been taken into consideration, which makes the area as a test field for the graduation lab of energy landscape. South Limburg is the Dutch part in region of Green metropolis which gathers all of the mining sites in Neth- erlands. As the central part of ‘ParkStad’ in South Limburg, Heerlen is a city developed on the basis of mining industry which has witnessed the prosperity and decline of the Dutch mining industry. The city is going through a depression since the mining industry was over. The project aims at reactivating the post-industrial city with an approach of landscape, which deals with both of recalling the old energy landscape as identity of the city and creating new energy landscape. To achieve this goal, the infrastructure lines will be used as a design instrument not only to invite people to perceive the new landscape, but also to work as the new structure for urban development. Thus, new life will be injected to the city with a new green heart transformed from an integration of the post-industrial sites, existing landscape and shrinking area.

Mining based urban development Mining leftover in current city 1. Infrastructure line as an instrument to redevelop the landscape In this graduation project, on one hand, from an experiential perspective, infrastructure lines are used as an instrument to study and to build people’s perception of landscap. On the other hand, from a functional perspective,the infrastructure line as the carrier of Concept new landscape is expected to contribute to the urban development. 2. From traditional energy to renewable energy Traditional energy provider shows great potential for new energy projects.For instance, the vacant area left from old mining industry may meet a large demand of space requied by new energy projects. In addtion, new energy intervention can contribute to landscape innovation according to the existing landscape features of Heerlen. (1) Make the energy elements ‘invisible’: Wind farm in woodlands (2) Integrate the energy elements with recreational and educational function: wind turbine as view tower (3) Energy elements itself become landscape elements: biomass fields. Heerlen is one of the most important cities in Dutch mining history which gathers 5 of 13 mines in Netherlands. It re- 3. Shrinking problem as an opportunity for new landscape and city mained largely agrarian until coalmining began in the late 19th/early 20th century. Since the mining industry started in To create a green heart for Heerlen by a new path system. Instead of only to demolish shrinking houses or to build new programs, a more efficient the beginning of 20th centry, the city got a dramatically growth and population rose sharply from 6646 in 1900 to and unique approach is needed to treat the space differently. In this case, the infrastruc- 32,263 in 1930. In the period 1965–1975 the coalmines were closed altogether. In the area around Heerlen-Ker- ture network which connects the vacant and shrinking area shows large potential from krade-Brunssum and Sittard-Geleen 60,000 people lost their jobs. Instead of the existing main urban roads structure whcih functionally connect the both functional and perception perspective. Problem statement: urban area, the new path system will go back to the existing landscape and stimu- 1.Lost identity: In the cityscape of modern-day Heerlen very little reminds us of the once omni-present mining industry. The three research question works together as the guide and main structure for this 2.Forgotten landscape: The former dynamic industrial landscape in which people fully participated in no longer exists, lates new energy and recreational landscape. graduation project, from research to design. leaving boring land behind trees and houses with little interaction with people. 3. Limited connection between landscape and urban 4.Scattered green hearts: Scattered ‘mining centers’ are not connected to each other anymore, but the urban structure which mostly formed by mining industry is kept. 5. Shrinking Path typology study Design Experiment

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4. Pocket green area left by mine surrounded by urban area

2. Transition zone from urban to Brunssummerheide

Current situation: limited accessibility to landscape and little interaction between landscape and urban

1. Coal mine hill and vacant land left by mine within urban fabric

Aim: dynamic interaction between landscape and urban according to different landscape quality and configuration

3. Sand quarry at edge of the city

1. Topography

Master plan

2. Natural landscape

3. New Urban landscape

4. Mining landscape

Zoom in Design Conclusion

I Landscape path through sand quarry - looking back to the past 1.New path system goes into different landscapes and activates various programs. 5. Energy landscape

2. A new urban morphology ‘ green village in city ‘ is formed around landscape or transformed from shrinking area. Since the problematic areas are turned to be attractivness based on possible development according to different landscape qualities: existing old ‘down town’, urban agriculture and public space in urban village, energy park and fields in eco-village, theme park and cultural center in quarry area. These villages will not only attract local residents and new im- mgrants to work and live in it. ,the village system works as a green belt contribute to the re-organization of urban structure and which leads to a better coherence and strong identity.

II Biomass park in eco-village - looking forward to the future 3.Seven energy projects integrated with landscape and communi- ties make ithe landscape productive again after mining age. The windfarm in woodlands generates electricity which will meet half of the demand of households in heerlen. The rest of the energy projects are more local scaled which will benefit the neighbour- hoods around combines with landscape programes. Energy generation is not seen as the main goal but a bonus for a compact city like Heerlen. But the new green and sustainable life style make it an example for other post-industrial cities in Green Metropolis.

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