URBACT III - Revitalisation of spinning machine construction
Cooperation between the cities
URBACT is a European programme for sustainable, integrated urban development. For fourteen years, it has been promoting the exchange of experience between cities across Europe and at the same time supporting them with their local economic, social and environmental challenges.
The cooperation between the cities takes place within the framework of networks in which up to a maximum of twelve partners work together. There are three different types: In the "action planning networks", such as here at 2nd Chance, the participating institutions develop local urban development concepts for a specific topic.
The key activities of URBACT are the transnational networking of cities, the development of structures and competences for integrated urban development on site and the utilisation and dissemination of the results achieved.
2nd Chance Action Planning Network
What is it about?
The 2nd Chance Network is concerned with the revitalisation of larger vacant buildings, building complexes or urban areas with many vacant buildings that have lost their original use, are in a state of decay and represent a problem or at least a challenge for the city and the owner.The 2nd Chance Network is concerned with the revitalisation of larger vacant buildings, building complexes or urban areas with many vacant buildings that have lost their original use, are in a state of decay and represent a problem or at least a challenge for the city and the owner in their current condition.At the same time, these buildings offer a unique opportunity for sustainable urban development. As these buildings are vacant, they offer space for necessary functions and uses that have not yet found a place in the city or within the neighbourhood. Due to their size in particular, they enable a variety of social, commercial, ecological or cultural uses, all within the existing building fabric and urban area.
Funding, Chemnitz team, contact person
The city of Chemnitz had a budget of 53,000 euros available for the implementation. It was a partner in the second phase of the network project from 3 May 2016 to 3 May 2018.
The interdisciplinary Chemnitz project group consisted of ten members, including Spinnwerk Managing Director and owner representative Klaus Hirsch from Berlin, Patrick Wiederanders, the City of Chemnitz's representative for Altchemnitz area management, and Thomas Rohde, who coordinates the citizens' platform in the Chemnitz-Mitte area. There were also other representatives from the city administration, business development and users.
The project was managed by Thomas Mehlhorn, the project coordinator at the city planning office at the time. The project was carried out in a public-private partnership with Spinnwerk.
The new contact person at the City Planning Office is Martin Blask (Tel. 0371 488-6035, martin.blask(at)stadt-chemnitz.de).
Process and key activities
European exchange
Three representatives from Chemnitz took part in the introduction to the URBACT method as part of the 2016 Summer University in Rotterdam, and two each took part in the thematic and trilateral meetings in Maribor, Porto and the final event in Naples. Chemnitz hosted the second thematic network meeting in October 2016 and was able to show the European partners the target object of spinning machine construction and good practice examples such as the successful refurbishment of schönherr.fabrik or the advisory services offered by the StadtWohnen Chemnitz agency.
Impressions of the 2016 network meeting and the 2018 citizens' forum
Partner
Lead Partner: City of Naples (Italy)
Lead expert:
Nils Scheffler, urban expert, Berlin
Project partners: DURA Dubrovnik (Croatia),
City of Maribor (Slovenia),
City of Lublin (Poland),
City of Chemnitz (Germany),
City of Brussels (Belgium),
City of Caen (France),
City of Liverpool (UK),
City of Gijon (Spain),
Porto Vivo, Porto (Portugal),
University of Genoa, Genoa (Italy)
Interviews
with project coordinator Thomas Mehlhorn on the URBACT network "Second Chance":
Highlights and important local activities
Creative workshop on the vision
The owner company Spinnwerk was motivated by the project to update its development concept in spring 2017. To develop a joint vision with the project group, Kreatives Chemnitz e. V. organised an image workshop from March to May 2017. In this format, creative people from different sectors worked together to develop ideas for visions and the image of spinning machinery manufacturing. The personas method developed by Marco Spies was used to achieve the objective. The method and the results were presented to the project group in an interactive session using dress-up mannequins that were characteristic of the different roles of the participants.
Festival Cloud Cuckoo Land
In 2016 and 2017, the Spinnerei e.V. organised the three-day art and culture festival Wolkenkuckucksheim at the open-air location Spinnerei with the support of URBACT funds. Current music projects, installations, performances and various workshops were presented as part of the festival. This raised public awareness of the target object and created an awareness of artistic freedom in spinning mill engineering.
Watch the video
Experience industrial culture
Using a mobile website, the "Experience industrial history " app was expanded by urban geographer Katja Manz with Mary Anne-Kockel to include the spinning mill machinery manufacturing site as an example and realised with six QR code panels installed on the site for visitors to explore the industrial culture for themselves. The realisation of the site example can be transferred to a future thematic tour of Altchemnitz.
New lighting concept
To improve public safety, orientation and valorisation of the commercial property, Ruairí O'Brien. Architecture. Light. Raumkunst. from Dresden developed a lighting concept for the outdoor area. A light rehearsal on the evening of the local closing event in April 2018 showed that adding to and setting the scene for the entrances and façades could make the building complex more attractive.