Industrial Heritage: Regeneration or Preservation
This blog is part of my university assignment about global and cyber heritage, I have decided to look at the issue of industrial heritage and its preservation and if this can be combined with regeneration.
Industrial heritage gives us connection to our past and future in a way that more traditional forms of heritage cannot. Industrial heritage is the story of the people who made nations.
Welcome
Please follow the link below, watch the presentation and then follow the link back to the blog to register your views and answer the questions that were posed in it. Please feel free to share this blog with others you feel have an interest in the preservation of industrial heritage.
You can navigate through the presentation using the arrows which will appear at the bottom of the screen, if you want to look at the images in more detail just click on them. Moving the cursor back to the bottom of the screen will return you to the navigation arrows.
There are links in the presentation which may not work if it is not run in the 'Full Screen' mode, to do this, click on the 'More' button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and select 'Full Screen'.
Many structures are impressive in their own right. Interpretation is the key perhaps. One option is to incorporate into works of art e.g. the cooling towers at Tinsley Sheffield.
If you go with the tilden attitude that to not speak to someone on a personal level is to make the site sterile (i paraphrase, hopefully correctly lol) then there will always be a hint of romanticism in heritage sites, especially ones that affected people so deeply on a daily basis. It is human nature, but care should be taken not to make it too Schmultzy. Maybe by using the voices of its past population will minimise this? Sanitisation? mmmm not sure about this. I think that visitors generally have a vivid enough imagination when presented with images and information to 'feel' the heat, dirt and noise without having to actually experience it for themselves. eg. we can all imagine how horrible it must have been in medieval dungeon without actually being thrown in a hole and tortured.
I am not sure that you can, yet. Maybe with the advance of technology there will be ways in which people can get a more realistic experience without the danger and health issues. Having said that, the danger was part of the experience which will not be known again, how far do you want to push your visitors!
I agree with the second post: It all depends on what your audience wants.
It may be possible to do this but would you still get the level of tourism you need to keep the site going? But of course this then leaves you with the issue of what impact this has on the community that lived and worked on these sites...
it would depend on the individual response. If that particular heritage was once part of your life, it would affect you more deeply. It depends on who you are doing this for and what you want to show them.
It would be hard to fully represent the industrial without over romantisising and sanitisation of these sites because people dont want to see that, because in there day these places will have been filthy, dark and noisy.
It better be or we live the lie - a palimpsest so to speak. That said, here in the US it is not so much sanitization and romanticism but blatant commercialism and exploitation - most of the industrial heritage in the US mid-west is relatively recent and the best places are off the beaten path whether in the city like Chicago or St. Louis or in the rural heartlands of Illinois (coal and agriculture)
Yes, but it is a fine line. Many Coal and Slate mines in Wales are often "preserved" as a testament to the men that worked them and are purposely left "rough & ready" with just a little modern day Health & Safety thrown in for the Visitors. There is nothing wrong with a little "romance or nostalgia" these are the tools behind the success of the many Air Museums that thrive on Military Heritage.
No – most late 20th century industrial conditions would now be unacceptable to workers, let alone attraction visitors. Complying with regulations and offering an acceptable experience will inevitably lead to changes from the original environment. It may also be necessary to make changes to allow a clear interpretation to be made.
No – most late 20th century industrial conditions would now be unacceptable to workers, let alone attraction visitors. Complying with regulations and offering an acceptable experience will inevitably lead to changes from the original environment. It may also be necessary to make changes to allow a clear interpretation to be made.
Not if you're trying to get paying customers through the door. If you truly represented some industries as they were, the public wouldn't be allowed in, so some sanitisation is required, but should be able to do it without over romanticising.
As previous commentators stated to represent a truthful depiction would be impossible under modern rules and regulations. You have to present a 'clean' version to attract the paying customer yet you should still be able to create a reasonable and effective representation of the truth.
Some sanitisation may be needed!
ReplyDeleteMany structures are impressive in their own right. Interpretation is the key perhaps. One option is to incorporate into works of art e.g. the cooling towers at Tinsley Sheffield.
Isn't that what the visiting public want from a day out. Maybe you have to go with that to make it successful.
ReplyDeleteIf you go with the tilden attitude that to not speak to someone on a personal level is to make the site sterile (i paraphrase, hopefully correctly lol) then there will always be a hint of romanticism in heritage sites, especially ones that affected people so deeply on a daily basis. It is human nature, but care should be taken not to make it too Schmultzy. Maybe by using the voices of its past population will minimise this? Sanitisation? mmmm not sure about this. I think that visitors generally have a vivid enough imagination when presented with images and information to 'feel' the heat, dirt and noise without having to actually experience it for themselves. eg. we can all imagine how horrible it must have been in medieval dungeon without actually being thrown in a hole and tortured.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that you can, yet. Maybe with the advance of technology there will be ways in which people can get a more realistic experience without the danger and health issues. Having said that, the danger was part of the experience which will not be known again, how far do you want to push your visitors!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the second post: It all depends on what your audience wants.
ReplyDeleteIt may be possible to do this but would you still get the level of tourism you need to keep the site going? But of course this then leaves you with the issue of what impact this has on the community that lived and worked on these sites...
it would depend on the individual response. If that particular heritage was once part of your life, it would affect you more deeply. It depends on who you are doing this for and what you want to show them.
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard to fully represent the industrial without over romantisising and sanitisation of these sites because people dont want to see that, because in there day these places will have been filthy, dark and noisy.
ReplyDeleteIt better be or we live the lie - a palimpsest so to speak.
ReplyDeleteThat said, here in the US it is not so much sanitization and romanticism but blatant commercialism and exploitation - most of the industrial heritage in the US mid-west is relatively recent and the best places are off the beaten path whether in the city like Chicago or St. Louis or in the rural heartlands of Illinois (coal and agriculture)
Yes, but it is a fine line. Many Coal and Slate mines in Wales are often "preserved" as a testament to the men that worked them and are purposely left "rough & ready" with just a little modern day Health & Safety thrown in for the Visitors. There is nothing wrong with a little "romance or nostalgia" these are the tools behind the success of the many Air Museums that thrive on Military Heritage.
ReplyDeleteNo – most late 20th century industrial conditions would now be unacceptable to workers, let alone attraction visitors. Complying with regulations and offering an acceptable experience will inevitably lead to changes from the original environment. It may also be necessary to make changes to allow a clear interpretation to be made.
ReplyDeleteNo – most late 20th century industrial conditions would now be unacceptable to workers, let alone attraction visitors. Complying with regulations and offering an acceptable experience will inevitably lead to changes from the original environment. It may also be necessary to make changes to allow a clear interpretation to be made.
ReplyDeleteNot if you're trying to get paying customers through the door. If you truly represented some industries as they were, the public wouldn't be allowed in, so some sanitisation is required, but should be able to do it without over romanticising.
ReplyDeleteAs previous commentators stated to represent a truthful depiction would be impossible under modern rules and regulations. You have to present a 'clean' version to attract the paying customer yet you should still be able to create a reasonable and effective representation of the truth.
ReplyDeleteNo, and whilst they stand sterile in the landscape, nobody will ever be truly able to offer an image that reflects the industry accurately.
ReplyDelete