Topos 69 presents examplary re-use strategies and projects from all over the world: The High Line and Governors Island, New York, Ballast Point Park, Sydney, the Toronto Waterfront, Central Park of Nanju Ecocity, Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm, Tokio Midtown …
The High Line, New York City
Opened last summer and already renowned all over the world: High Line Park extends along abandoned elevated railway tracks in New York City. An ingenious roof garden forms a promenade about ten meters above street level, both public attraction and business card for the landscape architecture profession worldwide. Author: Gerdts, Nadine
Governors Island
For almost two centuries, Governors Island in New York City was a military base. After the abandonment of the military facilities, the unique park-like setting offers an historic opportunity for the city. Open spaces and cultural events are an important early catalyst in bringing the island back to life. But the long-term vision is to create an outstanding park for the 21st century. Author: Hamlin, Abby
Infrastructure as Amenity
Buffalo Bayou Promenade in Houston, Texas, is an example of a large-scale landscape and waterway infrastructure project. The once toxic wasteland became an attractive urban space along the now clean river and also fullfills requirements of flood protection. Author: Shanley, Kevin M.
Toronto Waterfront: The New Blue Edge
The Canadian city of Toronto is making a mark with the redevelopment of its waterfront. The banks of Lake Ontario, previously part of a harbour, will receive a new identity. HTO Park was opened in 2007 and a system of timber decks and platforms is envisaged to extend along 3.5 kilometres of the Central Waterfront. Author: Sleegers, Frank
Ballast Point Park in Sydney
Reuse and recycling is a defining feature of Ballast Point Park. Demolition materials and relics of the site’s former industrial use have become important components of the new park on the peninsula in Sydney Harbour. Exciting theatrical spaces intermingle with a new story of sustainability, which has been added to the existing histories. Author: Hawken, Scott
Land Reuse in Tokyo Midtown
On a former military site in the centre of Tokyo a new urban landscape was created, straddling the interface between Japanese tradition and contemporary European parks. Author: Elsea, Daniel
South Lake Central Park, Tangshan
Within only one year a former mined area in Tangshan, southeast of Beijing, was transformed into a valuable 5.9 square kilometer public parkland that has become the catalyst for the development of the South Lake Eco-Town. Author: Zheng, Xiaodi
Utopia in Green and Blue
The new urban development Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm banks on landscape values, the presence of water and environmentally friendly design to make it competitive with the city centre and attractive to an urban population. Author: Andersson, Thorbjörn
The Future of Coastal Settlements in Iceland
For many years the coastal communities of Iceland have been exploited without regard for sustainability. Increasing public awareness and adjustments in government policy have raised hopes for change. Author: Hardardóttir, Margrét
Tampere, Finland: The Role of Landscape in Urban Transformation
Tampere was founded in 1779 as an industrial and trading town. The hydropower from two lakes attracted the textile industries to the place. Recently the city has received a boost from its redeveloped industrial landscape. Author: Lehtovuori, Panu, Lindqvist, Mikko
Ancoats Public Realm, Manchester
Once Ancoats was the Georgian and Victorian heart of the cotton industry in Manchester, Great Britain. The regeneration strategy for the abandoned city area focuses on investment in the public realm prior to the restoration of the building blocks. Author: Brune , Irina, Stockley, Martin
The Horizontal on the Vertical
Carl Alexander Park in Baesweiler near the German city of Aachen will be an engine for urban design development. It is already the symbol of a fresh start today, not least for its low-key and yet majestic crown of the mining waste tip. Author: Leppert, Stefan
Learning from Duisburg-Nord
Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park in Germany’s Ruhr district is an icon of the handling and reuse of post-industrial sites. The approach chosen and the principles applied in its design also influence the discipline of landscape architecture in other kinds of tasks. Author: Weilacher, Udo
Writing and Reading the Land
Essay, based on a lecture held during the symposium on “Sustainability and Design” in Reykjavík in June 2009, an event by Topos and the Icelandic landscape federation FILA. Author: Thorsson, Gudmundur Andri
