Transforming industrial land – ideas for creating vibrant cities | Morten Longum | TEDxArendal
The architect proposes transforming the current industrial site, Pesc, into a diverse "Small City" that fosters public interaction and economic vitality. This vision uses principles from coastal cities like Grimstad, featuring pedestrian-focused "axes of activity" and restored waterfront access to ensure people meet and engage across different economic classes. The project is structured not as a grid, but to promote quality views and varied living experiences for residents and visitors alike. ## Speakers & Context - Architect presenting a redevelopment plan. - The site is currently an industrial area, previously related to shipyards, cast iron works, and mechanical industries supplying ships and oil platforms. - The architect grew up outside Aral Sea, finding the project intriguing compared to plans for the Aral Sea. ## Theses & Positions - The goal is to create a Small City (a "Small Hub") that functions as a destination for both residents and visitors. - The design prioritizes diversity by offering homes in different sizes and types for people in different life stages, enabling all people to live there throughout their lives. - The development must facilitate public interaction; the plan aims to prevent the isolation seen in quiet residential seaside projects. - Economic vitality requires focusing activity onto specific streets and places, centered around a primary "axis of activity." - The architectural principle should emulate coastal cities like Grimstad, avoiding straight-line grids by creating randomly placed buildings that allow for narrow meeting spaces and open areas. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Small City / Small Hub:** The envisioned transformation of the industrial site into a mixed-use, diverse community destination. - **Axis of Activity:** A core pedestrian street suggested to funnel interaction, featuring shared indoor spaces that showcase various activities, such as boat repair or crafting. - **Pesc Pollen / Felig:** The proposed connection across the bay, mirroring the historical way the water divided the islands. - **Grimstad:** A model coastal city mentioned for its architectural layout, where buildings are placed randomly rather than in a straight line. - **View Plan for Business:** A method to enhance property value by suggesting low buildings in the front that increase in height further back, ensuring good views from all properties. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Redevelopment Timeline:** The plan has been worked on for eight years, starting in 2015. - **Waterfront Access:** Implementing a pathway along the entire sea edge to grant public access to the waterfront. - **Layout Principle:** Basing the layout on the old principle of coastal cities, where structure is organic rather than grid-based. - **Fostering Interaction:** Creating structured points for meeting, such as suggesting a bar named "the winch" and focusing activity along the primary axis. - **Public Realm Connection:** Creating visible connections (e.g., a pathway) between Pesc Pollen and Felig. - **View Enhancement:** Structuring building heights to maximize view quality for all units, rather than having a single, view-blocking front row. ## Timeline & Sequence - **Past History:** Site previously supported the shipbuilding industry (used to be an island connected to Tuma). - **Project Start:** Plan creation began in **2015**. - **Future Vision:** The ultimate goal is a fully realized Small City where the ferry landing might also move back to Pesc. ## Named Entities - **Pesc:** The industrial site being transformed. - **Tuma:** Body of water connected to Pesc, necessary for shipbuilding expansion. - **Aral:** A body of water where the architect grew up, serving as a point of comparison. - **Grimstad:** A reference coastal city whose layout principles are adopted. - **Pesc Pollen / Felig:** Areas connected by the planned waterfront path. ## Numbers & Data - Project planning duration: **eight years**. - Project start year: **2015**. ## Examples & Cases - **Failed Seaside Projects:** Areas that have become quiet residential zones lacking life, often catering only to the elderly or the privileged. - **Las Palmas Example:** A visual example showing how front-row buildings can block views, creating a significant disparity in property value between rows. - **Kid Input:** Ideas generated from local schoolchildren, which included desirable features (dance studios, bowling halls, shops) and undesirable ones (strip club). ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Pathways:** Suggested infrastructure to allow walking along the entire sea edge. - **Picket Fences:** Suggested boundary markers to create a natural border between private and public space. ## References Cited - Coastal cities like **Grimstad**. - **Las Palmas** (visual reference for view degradation). ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Grid City Model:** Rejected in favor of organic, non-linear layouts. - **View Value:** Trade-off between maximizing view for a few (front row) versus distributing good views across all buildings. - **Building Function:** Ensuring shops are placed within the axis of activity to guarantee pedestrian interaction, making survival more likely. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The proposed "winch" bar is seen as insufficient; the goal requires more than just a single commercial anchor. - The challenge of preventing loneliness is identified as a key issue that the design must address. ## Methodology - **Community Consultation:** Visiting a local school and implementing the "Pness game" to gather ideas from children. - **Architectural Principle Selection:** Adopting the non-linear, organic layout pattern common to certain coastal towns. - **Zoning/Density Control:** Implementing varying building heights to equalize view quality and appeal across the site. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The plan must create a dynamic mixture of uses (residential, commercial, recreational) to attract and retain diverse populations throughout their lives. - The core suggestion is the development of a primary **"axis of activity"** that funnels people into shared public spaces. - The success relies on the underlying *principles* established, allowing the city to develop organically over time. ## Implications & Consequences - Successful implementation will result in a significantly higher overall quality of life and property value due to accessible sea views and varied social mixing. - The plan aims to combat social decline and isolation prevalent in aging, single-use residential coastal towns. ## Verbatim Moments - *"Can you imagine in a few years from now this place could be turned into this."* - *"Our goal is to create more diversity we want to make homes in different sizes and types for different people with different who are in different stages of life."* - *"The waterfront has been inaccessible for too long so we want to give the public access to the Waterfront."* - *"We based the layout of the place on an old principle you find in coastal cities like for instance grimstad where buildings... placed more randomly creating narrow spaces and more open places for people to meet."* - *"We think pisel needs a Main Street a pedestrian streate of course so we suggest what we have called an axis of activity."* - *"If you don't like meeting people you can always far and somewhere else to go in the area to make business a vital City."* - *"By doing this we create some very good apartments in all the buildings in the area so you will have a more diverse group of people living in the same building from different economic classes meeting each other in the hallway and getting to know each other in our view plan for business."* - *"I hope to be back in 10 years from now to see this have happened."*