IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

Until today industrialization represents the most important formative layer of development in the Vogtland/Fojtsko. Due to abrupt structural breaks after 1990, today its industrial heritage is fragmented and marked by demolition and vacancy, accompanied by emotional uproar or seemingly un-emotional passivity. Based on a social constructivist understanding of space, differentiating between internal and external perspectives is central for our approach. In this abstraction and subsequent linkage, we see an essential potential for discussing (hidden) potentials, values and future options of the industrial heritage. We applied three different approaches: In an explorative phase, spontaneous conversations with local people were conducted as an approach to the internal perspective. People were deliberately approached at vacant buildings in order to address and provoke emotions. Subsequently, from an external perspective, spatial images were developed as future scenarios. Here, potentials addressed what can (actually) only be experienced locally. In a discursive exhibition on site a reflection with the inside perspective followed. Finally, audio walks were developed abstracting and merging the interior and exterior perspectives. By distancing from the visual level, the possibility of direct, almost intimate addressing of spatial atmospheres is seen to draw attention to spaces of possibilities or the drawing of boundaries. From a planning perspective we combine the documentation of objects with the activation of places by involving residents. We want to contribute by using the example of the industrial heritage in the Vogtland/Fojtsko region to demonstrate its value and significance for regional development beyond the administrative borders.