Observatory Stories

LONDON CLT

London CLT is London’s first Community Land Trust established in the former psychiatric hospital of St Clements, in the Mile End area.

SARGFABRIK

The Sargfabrik, a transformed former coffin factory has been one of the most important adaptive reuse projects with an innovative housing aim.

CASCINA ROCCAFRANCA

Cascina Roccafranca is a public social and cultural centre operating in a large former farm house and its courtyard on the periphery of Turin.

FÄRGFABRIKEN

Fargfabriken is a contemporary cultural laboratory, exhibition space and event centre in a 1889 industrial building.

POTOCKI PALACE

The Potocki Palace, a rococo residence and its surroundings in a county town Radzyn Podlaski in Eastern Poland.

CONVENTO DELLE CAPPUCCINELLE

The former church complex Convento delle Cappuccinelle, situated in a very dense neighborhood of Naples historical center, was a juvenile jail until the end of the last century when it was definitively dismissed.

LVIV JAM FACTORY

Jam Factory Art Center is a project of revitalization of the former industrial neo-gothic building at Pidzamche district in Lviv.

LARGO RESIDêNCIAS

Largo Residências is a cooperative hostel, artist residence and café using a formerly empty residential building in Lisbon’s Intendente neighbourhood.

LA FáBRIKA DE TODA LA VIDA

La Fábrika de toda la vida is located in a rural Spanish town in an old cement factory. It is an inclusive, participatory cultural space.

JEWISH QUARTER BUDAPEST

The so-called Jewish Quarter in District VII of Budapest was a multiethnic and multireligious area from its very beginnings in the second half of the 18th century.

HALELE CAROL

Located near the centre of Bucharest, part of the factory is still used for production, whereas the transformation of some former production halls started in 2012 through cultural activities with the aim to make the place better known to a wider audience and create funds through programming with a mixed commercial and social agenda.

STARá TRžNICA

Bratislava’s Old Market Hall (Stará tržnica), owned by the municipality and unused for years, was leased to an NGO for a symbolic one euro per year, with the obligation of investing 10,000 euros per month in the building’s renovation.

EXROTAPRINT

ExRotaprint is an industrial complex in Wedding, Berlin that hosts cultural and social activities.

GREEN METROPOLIS

The term ‘Green Metropolis’ is an art term that should combine the post-industrial landscapes in the German, Dutch and Belgian border region.

NAVY YARD AMSTERDAM

The Navy Yard Amsterdam is a 15HA area close to the central station in Amsterdam. Due to its military character, this navy base has been sealed off from the rest of the city for 350 years. Since 2015, the area is gradually opening up to the public and will be transformed to a new city quarter.

ALBA IULIA

Although the refurbished Citadel is one of the top-most tourist attractions of Romania, it is still in the progress of finding appropriate functions for some of its buildings.

1-minute Observatory Snapshots

London CLT: Stakeholders

London CLT: Involving residents

London CLT: Long-term engagement

Färgfabriken: Cultural diversity

Färgfabriken: Collaborative process

Färgfabriken: Unique cultural platform

Largo Residencias: Promoting important issues

Largo Residencias: Influencing public policy

Largo Residencias: Engaging different communities

ExRotaprint: New development model

ExRotaprint: Business diversity

ExRotaprint: Financial model

Stara Trznica: Community engagement

Stara Trznica: Transforming public space

Lab Stories

Restauration works in the Sunderland Lab

170-175 High Street West in Sunderland is long overdue for some restoration works! Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust now owns the building, and is working hard to gather the funding needed to do up these amazing buildings. The aim is to restore them not to former but to future glory!

National Conference in Hof Prädikow (video in German)

Cooperative Heritage Lab Hof Prädikow is an experimental site combining adaptive reuse with an innovative model that aims to bring together the best of urban and rural lifestyles. In this video you can learn more about the National Conference that took place in Hof Prädikow on 5 May 2022.

Project Stories

Openheritage

OpenHeritage tests a new approach to adaptive reuse, one that is based on empowering the local communities, and is adaptable for marginalised and less frequented sites as well.

Learning from good practices

Inclusion is a powerful tool, enabling sustainability. It is one of the main ideas behind the OpenHeritage project.

Informed Cities forum: who profits from heritage?

The 7th Informed Cities Forum took place on 15-16 October 2019 in Warsaw (Poland) and explored the interrelation of urban regeneration and heritage. The event was co-organised by OpenHeritage and Actors of Urban Change.

FIRST OPENHERITAGE DIALOGUE

The OpenHeritage project kicked-off its first Dialogue by reflecting on current adaptive heritage reuse policies across Europe.

SECOND OPENHERITAGE DIALOGUE 1/2

In the second OpenHeritage Dialogue we reflected on “Sharing and Caring: Partnerships for Adaptive Heritage Reuse”.

SECOND OPENHERITAGE DIALOGUE 2/2

This is the recording of presentations delivered by the OpenHeritage’s sister projects – REACH and Ilucidare during the second OH Dialogue on partnerships for adaptive heritage reuse.